Rise of the fallen
by chloemcg
Summary: 12 Years after the case of UR-1 incident had been finally closed, Kristoph Gavin and the Phantom have been released from prison and threaten the lives of Phoenix and company and their children. Whats more, Apollo is going to be a father. What if the two criminals from the past make our Ace attorney heroes worlds most wanted? ApolloXJuniper and more.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question. **

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Darkness...

A man without emotions...

A living abyss and enigma...

A spy...

Someone who left everything that made him human behind...

These were things to describe a certain someone by. This person had originally sabotaged a rocket ship a day after ruthlessly murdering a doctor on analytic psychology named Metis Cykes who worked at the infamous Cosmos space center. He also unknowingly made the place famous because of what he had done to try and hide his crime since a little intruder, the doctor's daughter: Athena Cykes, had came in moments after the deed was done and she attacked him.

He also blew up a courtroom and another rocket but those were besides the point.

The man fought off his young attacker and kicked her to knock her out. She did stab his hand with a utility knife, regardless. He had managed to somewhat get away with it and someone was charged for that murder in his stead, the doctor's protege named Simon Blackquill. He had later become known as the twisted samurai and he hunted this individual down even while in the confinement of his cell for seven whole years.

However he had caught word that the crucial evidence for that murder had yet to return after a colossal seven years in space. He couldn't risk his crime being returned to the present and eventually get himself arrested so he decided to go undercover, killing a worthless man named Bobby Fulbright in the process. It was of little difficulty that he soon wormed his way into the police force and became a detective. He had become the lead on many cases afterwards and he thought that he could use his total lack of human emotion and killed an innocent young man that, to his little amount of horror, had been _holding _that key piece of evidence.

He silenced that boy and pinned the blame on that boy's mentor.

However a certain team ruined everything...

Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice and that little girl he had run into, Athena, had tore him apart. They **RUINED **everything! They actually struck some fear into his otherwise emotionally deprived heart and it was also because of that boy, Blackquill. He had taken the persona of Bobby Fulbright after the original was destroyed and tried to debilitate him although it seems that his efforts of misleading the oh-so-curious young man had been in vain as he had worked together with that pathetic excuse of an attorney.

Now that this man's cover has been blown he had been known now by one name and one name only:

The Phantom.

Never had he shown his real face to anyone as he hid himself behind a lot of masks. He always lived as someone else. Always stuck to his prey's shadow like the cowardly predator he was...

The man didn't even recall his own name, the name he was born with!

He was a man without identity!

He once again hid his face behind a mask but this time it hid behind his real face instead of just layering yet another mask. This mask reflected his "personality" perfectly. The mask was black and it enabled his face to be perfectly concealed by the shadows yet his eyes -those devious, emotionless eyes- were the only thing that were able to be seen through the pitch blackness of the harrowing night he had always somehow hid within.

The phantom was always swallowed up by his pitch black surroundings as he stared out the window of his cell, waiting and dwelling on how to get back at his targets. He would get them and make them wish they had never been born.

He sat on a chair, wearing his mask, as he glared up towards the moon. The moon mocked him as it hung in the dark blue sky above, shimmering ivory white moonlight against his front and this hardly revealed his face anymore like it should have done, yet it did show off the prison uniform he wore. He would have been dead but he was spared for some reason, most likely because of certain reasons.

This Phantom was the individual who had underhandedly ushered in the Dark age of the law.

All he could think about was how to pay them back, how to ruin Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes' and Phoenix Wright's lives.

The Phantom growled under his breath and he complemented on his many ideas. He would have to wait for years if he had to...

He would get their children and make them pay for what had happened to his precious reputation. The Phantom simply had to weave his idea into a scarf of a full-proof plan and make sure that he would wear it for as long as he lived. He **VOWED **to get back at everyone who was employed at the Wright anything agency.

Especially the owner of that accursed office.

However, the Phantom's train of thought had been snapped when he heard a malicious, civil yet slimy voice whisper with the cool breeze that had filled his cell all of a sudden "...We hello there...my friend."

The Phantom looked around, his face expressionless and his eyes cold and bitter. Who was this stranger that was suddenly interested in him?

He eventually found himself staring into the shining pair of glass lens that also reflected off the small shreds of moonlight shining through from the barred windows. This person was clearly suave and the outline of his ragged, rather filthy purple jacket was barely noticeable. The clicks belonging to the short, stumped heels of his white shoes echoed through the entire cell of the Phantom.

That slippery, gentlemanly, rather low-throated voice that was like honey in your ears spoke again yet it mingled fragrantly along with the soft whispers of the blowing winds "I _hear _that you have been tossed in here because of a certain...Spiky-haired cretin."_  
_

The Phantom snorted at the mention of that blue-suited ace attorney. The mere memory of him and his cohorts was enough to make him seethe and fold his arms. Ever since that trial whatever emotion he thought he had left behind along with his "self" had started to bloom only slightly. He had these emotions controlled because of the constant training he had undergone originally. The masked-man simply had his back against the wall and he refused to look this strange shadow cloaking himself in darkness.

"...Yes, I have indeed been tossed in here because of **THEM!" **His tone carried slight hints of anger yet his face was completely contorted in this emotion and he clenched both his fist and teeth. He kept his cool, however, as he closed his eyes thus making him fade into the blackness surrounding his lonesome cell yet the only thing being lit was the outline of his clothing.

The man closed his eyes and sighed heavily, dropping his head low.

He hated that team with all his being. He hated everyone who had put him behind bars, including that boy Clay Terran and that doctor Metis Cykes! They were both a huge involvement who he was glad that he rid the world of. They deserved what they got in his opinion since they stood in his way!

"Now, now..." The voice chided as if scolding a young child throwing a tantrum "I have the perfect plan in mind to get back at those who wronged you, wronged us."

Interested, the phantom raised a brow towards this man. This person too was in here because of Phoenix Wright? It truly was a wonder on how in the world this man had been thrown in here and yet still had a seemingly sane demeanor such as this. However he noticed a devilish glint sparkling behind those pristine glasses. He decided to ask before this man went any further...

"You are here because of that despicable attorney Phoenix Wright too?" He spat.

The man paused. He appeared to have been in deep thought about the answer yet he answered with that chilled suave voice of his "Indeed. That _pitiful _man wronged me and I was the one responsible for taking away that badge he never deserved." His voice dulled to a lower, more spiteful tone "He also brainwashed my protege, Apollo Justice, my dear brother and now they too rely on luck and bluffs, just like that fool."

The phantom's eyes widened for an instant. He knew this story. This man was famous for making Phoenix Wright losing his attorney's badge by making the public and everyone else believe that the attorney in question was the one responsible for the forged evidence that cost him dearly. His name, much like his, was whispered in fear in the outside world. It was a name that sent shivers up anyones spine even though he was the older brother of a song writer, Klavier Gavin:

Kristoph Gavin.

"Kristoph Gavin, isn't it?" The Phantom asked nonchalantly even though he was still not looking at the one he was directing the question at.

Even though Krsitoph was still shrouded in darkness, his voice was more than identifiable now that his identity had been revealed. Yes it was most certainly Kristoph Gavin who was speaking with this sadistic man. The two men stood in silence for moments at a time until one of them finally broke it.

"You want revenge against that attorney and everyone who works with him, I want the same." Some of the fine shreds of moonlight actually broke through on Kristoph's face and shown that he was now grinning an almost psychotic smirk that spread across his cheek and his glasses shimmered just as evilly "I do have an idea of how we can accomplish this goal and get back at those sad excuses of defense attorneys."

Some more silence was shared while the mysterious masked man thought it over. This was a very tempting offer that not even he could refuse. He kept his back pressed against the wall even though a thoughtful finger was scratching at his chin with little thought emanating with each and every stroke of the finger. He opened his eyes and whenever they finally flitted open, they scowled the most devious of scorns one could muster. A smirk rivaling the former gentlemanly attorney seemed to have spread across his own lips and he narrowed his eyes dangerously despite the mask he wore.

The two men knew that to get their satisfactory conclusions on life that they needed to combine their efforts and make Phoenix Wright and company pay for their misfortunes of ending up being in prison.

The phantom finally turned to face the shadowed Kristoph and flashed that mirroring grin with eagerness "...Alright, Mr. Gavin, I'm all ears."

The two men had struck their deal. Now it was up to time to decide what were to happen next in this plan. They swore to see this plan through even if they needed to wait a few years...

They would wait for ages if necessary, and wait they did...

* * *

**A/N: Thats the end of this Prologue chapter. Ooh dear...It would seem that two people are out to get Phoenix, Apollo, Athena, Blackquill, Klavier and even Trucy. What will happen next!? What will become of Phoenix Wright and company? What will have happened to them in years to come? **

**Find out soon and reviews would be highly appreciated.**

**Thanks!**

**-Chloemcg**


	2. A dozen counts of blessings

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question. **

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

...12 years later.

The curtains were shut tight, Phoenix's snores highly resembled that of a revving motor boat engine. His head rested against his desk and he was pretty sure that he would give himself a pressure sore from how firmly his right cheek was lain against his desk that had been stacked with files and sheets of paper concerning his job and a few clients that involved a few murder cases and even some of them involved payment.

It had been years since the "Dark age of the law" had been presumably finished with. Well, at least, the distrust of the court had evaporated into thin air. Yet crimes were still being committed, in fact the crime rate had appeared to heighten in a sense. This maybe a good thing in some sense since this meant that the Wright anything agency now had much more business than when it first started years ago. But at the same time it meant that lawlessness was running rampant and getting away with murder.

Phoenix Wright was clearly getting older as his spiky, black porcupine-like hair was beginning to grey around the edges and heavy bags were beginning to form beneath his eyes. There were no signs of wrinkles yet, at least so his increasing signs of decreasing youth were not of much concern.

Luckily his employees, Apollo and Athena, still worked here and Trucy never left to assist her father in difficult tasks even though they were each all grown up now.

Apollo had fulfilled his life's task in becoming a full fledged lawyer and had eventually, after many more years of being utterly oblivious to her little crush on him, he had married Juniper Woods who had gave up her original dream of becoming a judge now that the dark age of the law was over and became a work-at-home florist like her late grandmother. Actually now both Apollo and Juniper were very soon going to be parents themselves as they lived up in the mountains! Despite not being a judge, though, Junie still kept in touch with newly weds Robin and Hugh and her friendship with them was still rock solid as always.

Phoenix would have came and visited but they did live around 30,0000 feet so it would be a staggering journey for certain.

Athena had adopted two twin girls named Luna and Star and took them beneath her wing to teach them both about analytical psychology. She waited a few years to do this, however, since she was worried about some personal matters getting in the way. However those two young girls were very sweet and obedient of their adoptive mother so made sure to help her in anyway they could. Both Star and Luna shared a very similar trait to Athena, actually, and this made things easier for Athena to teach them.

They usually talked in tech-geek mode and Phoenix didn't bother questioning it.

Athena kept in close contact with prosecutor Simon Blackquill whom had now treated Athena like his younger sister and now Aura and Athena were on much better terms that the killer of Metis and Clay had been caught and thrown in prison so they became honourable siblings and were there to help Athena whenever she needed it. In fact, Simon became very protective of Athena and threatened anybody who came near her with a blade and the occasional Shuriken. Simon kind of liked Luna and Star even though he was reluctant to admit this and Aura gave her advice when she really needed it.

Finally, there was Trucy. Phoenix's adopted daughter had grown up considerably even though she still brought a bubbly, optimistic atmosphere wherever she went. She hadn't really changed personality wise even though she too had a family to look after now. She had a boyfriend who had gotten her pregnant but that boy had left her soon after discovering their unborn child's existence. Trucy was thinking about getting rid of her child but was swayed by Phoenix away from the idea. Unlike some fathers, Phoenix really wanted to be a grandfather and he saw that doing something as rash as that would break her even more. The ace attorney just wanted his adopted daughter's happiness and decided to help her through the ordeal and that he did. Trucy eventually gave birth to a feisty little boy who she named Alakazam, after the magic trick, even though Phoenix and everyone else called the boy "Kazam" for short.

His grandson was two years old now and Star and Luna were both nine, going on ten.

Finally, sleepy and groggy from that night of hard work, Phoenix opened his eyes and stretched his arms tiredly. He stretched his mouth open in a yawn and let out a very long sigh while he also got to work in shaking off his tired yet tightened joints. He may not have been getting very old too quick but that didn't mean his muscles were behaving since they had a tendency to lock in place, disabling his movements, and he was at the age where his back tends to act up a lot more frequently.

Clicking his tongue tiredly and leaning forwards slightly, a very heavy-eyed Phoenix Wright lumbered slow and heavily towards the main room of the office where he soon was met by the adorable high pitched giggles of his young grandson.

Phoenix felt a playful predatory instinct kick into high gear and he grinned devilishly. He knew that the little boy would pounce to attack at any second now and it was usually the shoulders that were grabbed. His gaze flicked from left to right and he scanned his surroundings, trying to get a keen ear to pinpoint where the little boy would be.

He grinned when he could hear some soft, hard breathing coming from one side of the room.

Placing a finger over his chin, he began to scratch it to pretend to be in deep thought but it was sort of obvious that he knew exactly where that boisterous adopted grandson of his was going to lunge out from.

"Hmmm..." He muttered aloud, grinning all the while "I do wonder where that little troublemaker could be..."

Slowly his eyes wandered towards the sofa to his right as he walked further into the room so he stood square in the middle, his eyes narrowed hardly. He stood still for a moment before he felt something tackle him in the back, slamming right in between his shoulder blades and sending him down to the ground. Clearly he had pinpointed wrong...again. Phoenix knew exactly what this impact was and instantly flipped on to his stomach so he could pin the child down by the wrist yet he was sure to be gentle.

"Arrgh! Now I've gotcha, you lil' scamp!" Phoenix growled through a smirk as he pressed his hands down upon Alakazam's small, pudgy wrists and he got a good look at the young boy he was trying to wrestle yet being soft on his small stature.

Alakazam was a young boy who had pale skin and had thankfully inherited most of his mother's charms. He even had a head full of dark brown fuzz and his eyes were a deep blue colour and he had looked a lot like Trucy in many aspects and even wore a little miniature version of the magician's cape over his cyan nighttime onesie.

The young boy writhed and broke into fits of giggles. He was clearly trying to break free of his adopted grandfather's hold on him as the two had a playful yet gentle brawl, Kazam trying to throw a few punches yet Phoenix easily held his head high and away from the small blows. The two usually had this session each morning and Trucy would scold her little son for being so energetic, even though she was clearly playing with her son and would never really scold him unless he had done something bad.

"Grandpa!" Kazam giggled "Lemme go!"

Phoenix grinned sharply and narrowed his eyes daringly. He didn't release his grandson yet he had this rather devilishly sinister look in his eye but everyone knew he wasn't meaning any actual harm by it, he was just playing with the young hyperactive boy.

Instead of releasing Kazam, however, Phoenix simply continued to press down on the boy's wrists and he managed to find that the child's belly was exposed. He couldn't waste this opportunity as he bent his head down and blew a huge raspberry on the giggling child's tummy, earning huge bursts of laughter from the little 2 year old boy.

"Ahem..."

Phoenix's eyes went wide and he frowned, looking up from his play session. His face immediately went a bright red shade whence he discovered Trucy looking down upon them both with a furrowed brow yet she had a smirk plastered on his lips. She also had her hands on her hips while wearing her blue silk top hat yet she also wore a dark blue gown. Her dark brown hair was all messy as it went limp and somewhat frizzy even.

Trucy clearly had a case of bed head.

"Well, well, well...Isn't this a nice surprise?" Trucy laughed.

The ace attorney coughed awkwardly and he slowly climbed to his feet, his indifferent expression frozen on his face. As soon as Alakazam had managed to worm out of Phoenix's pin on the ground he instantly began to giggle in excitement and bounce on the spot as if he knew that something exciting was happening. He was so much like his mother in more ways then one.

The woman magician looked down at her energetic son and got down on her knees, stroking his head tenderly "Alakazam, mama needs to and talk to grandpa. Why don't you get dressed?"

The boy didn't even need to be told twice as he dashed out the room so he could go and do as requested.

Once Kazam had left the scene, Trucy and her adopted father were left alone in the room. Things had changed over the last few years, including the fact that everything had been "baby proofed" and the props for Trucy's magic acts were still in place even though most of them had been put up on high shelves because of the children that came everyday. Actually there were even a few things added to make this place as pleasant as possible for children.

Charley even rested in one corner, leaves ever so shiny.

Moments of silence passed by and Trucy sighed longingly "Daddy, it feels like only yesterday when Apollo first came to us. I also remember the day when you adopted me, boy was that day great."

Phoenix chuckled in reply. The truth was not any clearer that it was the anniversary when he had adopted Trucy and he could recall every second of raising her into the brave, courageous woman she was today. Actually, if he could turn back time, he would do it all again in an instant. He adored his little girl and would spend his entire life keeping her safe if he had the option.

"Yes it does feel like that." He turned his head towards her "I'm so proud of you, Trucy."

Trucy tipped her top hat to the spiky-haired defense attorney with a loving grin on her face "Well what can I say? I was just raised to be magically perfect in every way."

Phoenix sighed. He knew that Trucy was just joking but he still found her a little annoying at times, just like her half brother Apollo. Apollo actually discovered the fact that he was related to Trucy 2 years following the beginning of his employment at the Wright anything agency, a year after the Phantom was brought to justice. Apollo was stunned at first but decided not to say a word to this to Trucy since she would most likely be heart broken upon realizing that she had been alone for the entire time and think that their mother had abandoned her and the others at Troupe Gramarye to spend time with Apollo even though the latter had grown up in an orphanage for most of his life.

Apollo had dubbed himself as "Uncle Apollo" for Alakazam and actually was a pretty good one. He did kind of feel bad about concealing who he was to Trucy, though, since Phoenix was also aware that the young man knew of his heritage. It sometimes appeared to have brought on a form of discouragement in his eyes even though he tried telling himself that he was fine, just like always.

Shaking his head, Phoenix brought Trucy close into a snug embrace "Oh shush, nobodies perfect." He laughed "besides you have to make us breakfast and then you have to keep Juniper company later on for that, missy."

Trucy narrowed her eyes and stuck her lower lip out in a pout "Fine. I'll be quiet for now but I'll get back at you for this, Daddy, mark my words."

Phoenix grinned. They always dumped jobs on each other like this -such as the relationship between Phoenix and Trucy Wright. They both loved each other dearly and would never change a thing about their lives currently, not even the jobs they got stuck with.

The two current employees in the office then left to do their morning jobs and soon after Alakazam arrived back in the room and made a mad dash towards the table where he was hoisted on to the lap of Phoenix and he wolfed down his breakfast while Phoenix tried teaching his little adoptive grandson some table manners. Clearly this was a lost cause since it appeared that the little boy continued to devour his food despite the constant advisement of a certain ace attorney.

Trucy was flipping some pancakes in a frying pan as she toiled in the kitchen around a stove. She had grown accustomed to baking many morning treats ever since she was thirteen years of age, as Phoenix always made food items that would most likely give anyone food poisoning yet she would never tell him that.

However, out of nowhere, she actually heard the very familiar high pitched squeals of a certain young boy who clapped his chubby hands excitedly "Please do the magic trick, mama! Please do the magic!"

Trucy turned from her cooking and found that it was her biggest fan/son clapping, as she expected. She loved performing magic tricks for her family and for her audience so of course she would show her beloved little boy a magic illusion. She began grinning a sweet grin as she put some pancakes on a plate and passed them behind her back yet when she put the other arm behind her back and offered it out, the plate supposed to be held in the other hand, it had completely vanished.

Alakazam and Phoenix gasped in unison and their jaws dropped in awe. Where could that plate have gone?

They didn't need to question it for long since Trucy reached up to her hat and removed it, revealing the plateful of pancakes stacked neatly on top of each other placed atop her head and she winked mischievously to her crowd of two. She smiled even wider when she saw the sweet look of awe and pride within her son's wide eyes, it filled her with joy. This must have been how her own mother felt when she had done something brilliant.

The young adult Trucy passed the plate of pancakes to the two already sitting at the table but then a loud knocking caught the trio's attention. Phoenix lifted Kazam off his knee and placed him back down on the chair as he went to go and answer those knocks on the door. He had a feeling he knew who this was. Phoenix could sense an enthusiastic rhythm in those hard, firm knocks against the wood the door was made from and there was only one who knocked with such high spirits.

The ace attorney was proven correct when he answered the door. He was greeted with the sight of a now adult Athena (who basically looked the same as always but taller) with two young girls at her side. The two girls actually shared their adopted mother's grin and had identical necklaces that looked a lot like Widget, Athena's digital partner. They also had brown hair that reached passed their shoulders and they had different coloured eyes. One had unique purple irises while the other had teal irises.

These two girls were Star and Luna; the girl with the purples eyes Star and the other girl with the teal Luna.

"Hello Athena, Star and Luna." Phoenix smiled and allowed the three girls into the office.

Athena smiled enthusiastically "Hello Boss!" She then looked down at the two identical twins and put both her hands on each shoulder "Say hello girls..."

"Hi."

"Hello, Mister Wright."

Phoenix smiled, stepping aside to allow the three girls into the agency room and it didn't take them very long to find the breakfast table.

Star and Luna were orphans since birth and met Athena while performing in an ice skating show. It didn't take long for the young lady to discover that the two girls were orphans and soon discovered that the two had an extraordinary power that followed each others and it was remarkably identical to her own ability. Athena knew how hard to grow up with bearing everyone's emotions on her shoulders so decided to help the two girls control it by not only becoming their mentor but she also decided to give them some love by becoming their mother too.

Star and Luna were both very polite and well-mannered. They could get excitable from time to time and were also very obedient for Athena.

The spiky-haired man sighed when he realized that they were missing a partner in crime, a certain guy who had a very good pair of lungs on him and could probably break a few windows from his shouts of self reassurance. Phoenix leaned against the door frame heavily and called from where he stood "So, Athena! Did you see Apollo anywhere on you're way here?"

Athena's voice could be heard from the kitchen although it sounded like she had already tucked in from the fact that her voice sounded sort of muffled yet there were munches catching against her words "Yeah, I saw him a little ways behind us."

As if on cue, another knock on the door had caught Phoenix's attention. He rolled his eyes with a smile when he knew exactly who this was. Apollo had been having a rough time as of late since not only was he stressed about his unborn child but he was also worrying 24/7 about his wife, Juniper. She was getting sick quite often but then again that was not really surprising considering that her immune system was especially weak for some reason. That and the poor guy was up a lot of the night worrying about what would become of his son or daughter when they were born.

That baby could have been born anytime now...

Phoenix opened the door and was greeted by Apollo.

Apollo Justice, the man who usually said he was fine, wasn't looking so at the moment. He had massive bags sagging under his eyes and he looked just about ready to collapse from exhaustion! Actually the horns of hair Apollo sported on the top of his head withered like dying flowers and hung limply right in front of his keen eyes. Apollo even clasped a letter in his hand as he rocked back and forth on his feet as if his body was threatening to topple over.

"Oh my goodness, Apollo, have you been up all night again?" The boss of the Wright anything agency asked.

Apollo nodded feebly, his eyes feeling like weights "Yeah...Juniper's been...sick with a cold...again." He slurred tiredly.

Phoenix decided to help the man over to the breakfast table as he sportively wrapped an arm around Apollo and made him lean against him. He didn't really care about the letter he clutched, however. He smiled sympathetically towards his protege and his eyes softened in worry, clearly Apollo was worrying his head off about his wife and unborn child so Apollo had booked a room in a local hotel so Juniper was never far away from him with Phoenix's help. He couldn't help but feel so bad for the guy!

"C'mon, buddy" Phoenix grunted, holding the man up, and softly murmured while assisting Apollo over towards the table "Lets getcha some breakfast."

Apollo let out a deep-throated moan of agreement as he clearly had no objections to his boss assisting him to see the others yet he had yet to notice that the letter he had clutched in his grip before had slid to the floor and plopped on the carpet, only the name of whom its addressed to written on the back with a strange little stamp in the top right corner. This letter looked sort of imposing but nobody could explain how to deduce this aura emanating off the strange envelope.

The two men disappeared into the kitchen and left the letter on the floor.

Little did anyone know, however, was that this letter was just the beginning of everything;

Involving this entire adventure.

* * *

**A/N: Thats the beginning of chapter one. I hope you all like this story so far, this is what I think happens in the future of everyone involved in Apollo Justice. Oh and everyone in Dual destinies. It seems that everyone except for poor Apollo is having a nice time with their futures and is all ready for the road ahead...or are they?**

**BTW, isn't Phoenix such a good granddad? I tried to make it as fluffy as possible.**

**Please send some reviews and tell me what you guys think of this for a sequel idea. I may own a few characters, such as Luna and Star, but you may give your suggestions and you will see some characters return. I think you have a good idea on who some of them are... :)**

**Thanks!**

**-Chloemcg**


	3. Brighter side of the line

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix grinned down at his little team as he sat at his desk.

Everyone had arrived safe and sound and were currently doing their part to help around the agency.

Apollo was watering Charley, trying not to fall down from exhaustion, as he stood on his knees and propped himself up against the door frame. Athena, Star and Luna were dusting the shelves clean of any dust that may have covered them and any special objects and props. Trucy was cleaning the windows while humming a merry little tune, wagging her hips to the beat of the song she murmured from her throat.

Alakazam, however, was wandering around the place with his little cape blowing behind him. He was scanning the floor below to help tidy things up around the agency. The boy wanted to be helpful since they were expecting yet another visitor to arrive very soon. His eyes wandered towards something laying on the floor midst a few toy blocks that he would play with sometimes. However his attention was soulfully rested on that lone envelope.

Kazam was very good at reading for the age of two but he could see the address written on the surface of that rather strangely intimidating piece of parchment. He scurried over towards it, bent down and picked it up before he went to hand it over to his grandfather.

Phoenix stopped grinning when he saw Kazam standing on his tip toes with the envelope stretched out towards him. He dipped his brow towards the young boy and hoisted both him and the letter on to his lap, his face etched in confusion at seeing the little one holding that. He wasn't even aware of that letter's existence until he recalled the fact that Apollo had dropped a letter upon arriving starved from slumber.

Was this that letter?

"Whats that you have there?" Phoenix asked gently and took the envelope from his adopted daughter's child's tiny digits. He positioned the little boy on his lap so he too could read the letter if necessary but before that could even be possible, a knock had brought his attention once more. The knocks sounded meek and rather frail but it was enough to bring everyone's attention towards the mahogany door.

Before anyone could even say a word regarding who it was, Athena was racing to the door and opened it. She squealed happily when she opened it.

"Oh, Junie!" Athena's voice screamed happily through fits of ecstatic laughter "You're here!"

Phoenix smiled a little and put Alakazam down on the floor so the little boy could greet the arrival to the office and Athena entered the room with Juniper Woods, heavily pregnant, leaning against her right side with a joyful smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Juniper hadn't really changed at all and even wore the same attire she always wore when she used to be out of school, including the hat with the sun flowers stitched to the ribbon connecting the rim and the top but the only differences right now were three things: she was pregnant, she wore a wedding ring, and she was now standing at Athena's height even though she was still considerably shorter than her husband Apollo.

Athena guided her childhood friend over to the sofa and sat herself next to her with a happy smirk "So how are you, Junie? You look great!"

Juniper giggled although she did appear to have a bit of the sniffles "I'm alright, Thena. I'm a bit..." She put a hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn "...Sleepy."

The two women laughed and began to gossip a storm although Apollo was now knocked out and sleeping against the wall where he was previously watering Charley the plant. He looked really peaceful as he snored louder than a motor boats engine yet he stirred a little in his sleep. Clearly the poor guy was exhausted from worrying so much, like that was any surprise of Apollo Justice...

Athena directed her attention towards the sleeping red-wearing attorney "I'm not sure that surprises me, honestly." She smiled sympathetically "Poor Apollo seems to be shattered from everything."

Juniper sighed. She didn't wish to worry her lover but it was clear that Apollo was worried for both her and their unborn child. "I seem to be getting sick a lot lately, more than normal even with my weak constitution. I think he worries for both of us." to emphasize her point on the word 'us' she rubbed her swollen abdomen but the sorrow in her eyes were still there.

Phoenix couldn't pretend to feel sorry for the couple. They were both sacredly fearful of each other's condition and neither of them could even predict the future much to their worry. He looked on from his comfortable swirly chair and his brows furrowed in concern, his eyes softened as he imagined what must be going that boy's mind every second of everyday.

It was then that Athena decided to change the subject.

"...Well, what do you think its gender will be?"

Juniper's down face lit up like a light when she realized what Athena was inquiring about. She happily stroked her enlarged belly "Ooh! I personally hope its a girl, I want our little one to be just like her dad." She eyed Apollo sleeping against the wall towards the corner of the room "I think Apollo wants a boy so he could name them after Clay but I will be happy either way."

Athena grinned cheerfully and stroked her best friend's baby belly tenderly on the top "Well that's good, I wouldn't want my little godchild to go unloved by his parents whom will love them with everything they've got!"

Phoenix could have sworn that Athena had removed a frigid stone over the agency in one fell swoop. It was like when Juniper arrived a huge stone bringing cold and dark emotions had dropped over them and the young woman had just lifted it.

He sighed as he continued to watch the scene ahead of him and watched as Alakazam stumbled towards Juniper and Athena with a happy grin on his face, arms spread out in front of him as he rushed forwards in pure bliss and ecstasy. Athena didn't hesitate in helping the young boy up to sit in between both her and Junie, much to their happiness. While the two girls chattered among each other, however, both Luna and Star began to plot a little scheme of their own.

The twins both stood by the corner where Apollo currently slept and whispered slyly to each other.

"Star, I'm getting a bit bored of cleaning." Luna muttered in her younger twin sister's ear, her widget-like necklace glowing a deep blue from boredom.

Star raised a brow "But what are we going to do about it? Mother would be mad if we disrupted her chat with Miss Junie!"

Luna smiled, rolling her teal eyes a little while shaking her head dismissively "We aren't doing that, I was thinking more along the lines of Mister Apollo!"

Star played with her hazel brown bangs a little to prevent them from obstructing her vision with their length yet an uncertain frown was stuck on her lips "But wouldn't we get in trouble, Luna?"

The two girls talked about this for a few minutes until a compromise was reached. They would pull off this prank and not mess with anyone else for at least three days and target only one person for now since the target was currently out of order. The twins then proceeded to plan this prank to lighten everything else up atmospherically-speaking. They lived for being a little light in the darkness right along with everyone else here and they felt that yet another dose of liveliness was needed to liven things up around here and they decided that they needed someone else in this plan.

A certain little someone, to be specific...

The twin girls approached Athena and Juniper with sickeningly sweet smiles and they didn't show any obvious signs of what they were planning. Athena smiled down at her two little girls and bent down towards them kindly "Hey, girls, what do you need?" she asked them.

Both Star and Luna looked at Alakazam who sat in the middle of the two women. Kazam had his big eyes focused on the twins but he smiled upbeat all the same, oblivious to the twins devious little practical joke. He fumbled with his tiny fingers and his legs shuffled nervously as if he knew he was needed by both of the girls yet his eyes were wide and intensely scanning both Luna and Star's faces.

Luna encouraged her sister by patting her shoulder lightly and gently pushing her forwards, silently urging her to ask for Kazam's assistance.

Star sighed heavily to relax her nervous muscles and to relax her obvious worries. She was the nicer out of both of them and hated deceiving her adopted mother like this but if it would brighten the entire place up and make everyone else happier than right now then she was willing to do it.

"Can we b-borrow Kazam, m-mother?" Star stuttered through a nervous squeak of a voice.

If Athena was suspicious by her adopted daughter's stammering then she didn't show it in the least. She did, however, look very thoughtful before answering the request however. The lawyer knowing of analytic psychology's sky blue eyes were skyward for a few moments, a small frown on her lips, but she looked back down at her adopted girls and patted Star's head to soothe her worries and gave them her reply.

"Of course you can, sweetie, just make sure he doesn't fall and hurt himself, okay?"

Star nodded and took Alakazam into her arms as she carried the little toddler out of the room with Luna walking alongside her, the both of them slyly winking at each other in their latest victory method. Kazam did seem a little confused, though.

"...Those two are up to something something." Athena cocked a knowing brow whilst smirking at Juniper, saying this moments after the girls left the scene to commit their crime.

Junie seemed surprised that she knew this "Aren't you going to stop them, Thena?"

A very wry smirk widened upon Athena's lips as she narrowed her eyes to make her facial expression kind of evil and devilish "...Nah, I wanna see where this goes."

Athena didn't need to wonder for long on how she knew that. When she heard that nervous squeak in Star's voice, she sensed the fear and worry in her heart and that always told her that both her and her sister were up to something, even though Luna was mostly the culprit. She didn't want to get in the way of their fun so decided to let them have it for now...besides she could use a laugh.

Star and Luna both carried Alakazam towards the corner and whispered their cheeky little plot, to which he giggled quietly at and agreed to follow with if they could convince Trucy to give the lad a cookie in return.

Kazam wandered towards a sleeping Apollo and lightly tapped his shoulder, thus awaking the man from his heavy slumber.

"Uncle Polly?" Alakazam asked in a sweet voice.

Apollo rubbed tiredly at his eyes, rubbing a slender arm across his heavy ocular structures. He smiled softly down at his little nephew when he had rid himself of his groggy mind "...Yes, kiddo?"

Alakazam took his uncle's hand tightly and proceeded to lead him away "Can I show you something?"

Apollo didn't even get to answer before the little two year old led him off into the other side of the room but Juniper and Athena had been asked to hide away for the time being for this little prank but Phoenix was offered to stay put (which he did) but decided to play along with the twins' plan for now. The room was mostly empty except for the spiky-haired ace attorney sitting at his desk and sorting through files but ignoring the letter sitting right in front of him.

The now adult, red clad defense attorney was downright confused but didn't question anything even if he was wondering where on earth Athena had gone. Alakazam led his uncle into the middle of the room and sat him down on the sofa but Apollo kept on growing more and more suspicious as he fiddled with the growing goatee on his chin and his deep brown eyes thinned down towards his little toddler nephew, his brows raising.

"Kazam, what is it you need help with?" Apollo asked.

In response Alakazam took a few steps back, confusing Apollo further.

Apollo looked towards Phoenix with a silent looking pleading him to filling him in on what was happening. Phoenix simply smirked slyly in response, clearly not spilling the beans either. Apollo didn't have a magatama but didn't exactly need to have one to know that everyone was hiding something from him! He wanted to run away but his own fear of what was about to happen had pinned him to the sofa where he sat. His skin went 5 different shades of pale as he stared at the door that rumbled in anticipation.

He shivered, his two horns of hair falling in front of his face and he bared his teeth in deep fear of what was about to happen.

Apollo could feel his teeth chatter and himself breaking into a very cold sweat.

Kazam giggled and before Apollo could blink, Athena, the girls and Juniper jumped out of nowhere. Star and Luna both dropped a bucket of ice cold water down on Apollo while Juniper and Athena charged at the man and thus scaring the poor man out of his wits while Trucy came out of hiding and picked her son up, laughing like a maniac.

Apollo was overcome with surprise mostly upon seeing his wife so full of energy despite her condition and instantly took her into a tight embrace within the first two seconds of seeing her face even though everyone's laughter was so contagious that he too broke into bursts of laughter, his arms still wrapped around his heavily expecting wife, yet he caressed her as gently as ever. Athena had exclaimed through hearty laughter as she furrowed mischievous brows down towards the couple sitting on the sofa.

"Hahaha, we got you good, eh Apollo?" She laughed even harder.

Apollo also laughed "Hahaha, yep! You got me there, admittedly..." He looked towards Juniper who was getting tired from laughing too hard but his face quickly turned from full of hilarity to one full of concern as he caressed his beloved Juniper's face "Now then, are you okay?"

Junie giggled and nodded. She could see that Apollo was now more wide awake than before! Maybe that tiny nap and that alarm was all he needed to get his spirits back up. The man in question turned his attention to where his unborn son or daughter grew and he placed a comforting hand on top of his wife's swollen abdomen "Hows the little guy?"

"As you would put it, honey, their fine." A small cute blush rose on Junie's cheeks and her eyes sparkled like diamonds shimmering in the ivory shreds of moonlight.

Apollo smiled warmly, his eyes softening. He adored his family so much that he wouldn't hesitate to give them the world. He was looking forwards to being a father quite a lot and he was happy to have the support of Trucy, Phoenix and everyone else in his little honorary family. He actually forgot that icy cold water had been dropped down on top of him as he finally began to shudder from the frigid liquid that had been poured down on him a minute prior, hugging his own arms to warm himself.

"You're r-right, Juniper..." Apollo's smile deepened softly even through his shivering "You're fine, their fine...We're all f-fine."

However, just as he said that, Phoenix decided to open the letter that Alakazam had brought in earlier. He peeled the top off with his thumb and removed the piece of parchment from its tough paper prison but when he did his eyes froze completely. He felt as if his entire world had just come crashing down and his voice had completely got stuck in his throat and everyone looked towards the leader of the pack with concern on their lips.

"Mr. Wright...?" Athena asked slowly. "...What is it? Trucy finished, just as slowly as she held Alakazam close to her chest.

Everything had turned skull-numbingly silent as Phoenix scanned the letter carefully, his voice and lips quivering in a desperate attempt to function. It was all he could do from freaking out there and then while he broke into a complete nervous silence. He could even feel his hands tighten around the letter and his spine crawl at the tension in the air as the air dulled into silent terror.

The Ace attorney trembled in his seat with his shrunken pupils glued to the letter that filled everyone with a sense of dread all of a sudden.

...Why did this have to ruin everything within the drop of a penny?

* * *

**A/N: Oh dear...What is this letter that switched everything around? Who is it from? **

**Everything used to be bright until that letter came into the picture, it seems. What earth-shattering secret does it hold and why does it have Phoenix so riled up? Find out in the next chapter of "Rise of the fallen".**

**And don't worry, I will add other characters such as Detective Gumshoe and tell you how his life got on. I will also have supporting characters too. Lets hope that everything will be alright...**

**-Chloemcg**


	4. The letter of suspenseful beginnings

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Eyes frozen on the letter, Phoenix could do nothing but breathe in and out.

His heart rate skyrocketed as he tried to move, tried to breath normally. He could only hear the sound of his ragged breathing pattern and the echoes of his pounding heartbeat that echoed in his own ears and left a ominous echo behind to linger inside his mind. His hands trembled and quaked as he tried to regain all self control even though he had lost all control he had felt before...

He could have sworn that not only did his entire world darken but if he wasn't so scared right now then his entire face would have turned a shade of indigo to match the colouration of his suit. It would also match the dark blue shade of his eyes, yet he also felt like all the good he felt of the world before had been turned into powder and blown away but a gust of wind that filled the shoes of a single emotion:

Denial...

This could _not _be possible. It _shouldn't _be possible. How could this be happening!?

"M-Mister Wright?" The twins gasped simultaneously, fearing the sudden fear coming off their boss and close friend.

Finally getting a hold of himself, Phoenix stuffed the letter in his pocket and stood to his feet and before anyone could ask he was bustling around to fetch some clothing items and stuff with that same face full of indifference but there was a frozen look in his eye.

Nobody liked this one bit...

The ace attorney grabbed quite a few things consisting of raincoats, different clothing accessories and even some things that could involve having to use the special art of disguise. Phoenix even grabbed his outfit that he wore before reclaiming his attorney's badge and put on his grey jacket and his blue beanie hat that had been modified to say "Grandpapa" instead of the generic "Papa" pink pen work.

After putting his hobo-ish clothing on over his blue suit, the attorney at law shoved his hands into his pockets and began to make a running start out the door "Follow me!" He yelled as he made a beeline out the door.

Apollo, Athena and everyone ran to give chase of the owner of the Wright anything agency and ran out the door as quick as their feet could carry them. Clearly everyone was in a state of confusion and suspense and they were running so fast that the clothing they wore blew behind them as well as their hair, the heavy breathing of the racing group mingling through the silent air of horror as they decided to pick up the pace.

The employees of the Wright anything agency ran with their backs leaned forwards in a desperate effort to pick up the pace but no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't go any faster as they chased a frantic Phoenix down the road with their multiple sets of feet drumming against the concrete, clicking each time their heels slammed on the ground.

Juniper was the only one not running since Apollo was carrying her bridal-style, even though he was finding it hard to do this while running at full speeds. He didn't want her to get tired easily!

Phoenix didn't slow down despite the fact that his aging bones were beginning to ache and rub against each other. His eyes were filled to the brim with sheer terror and his face had turned a deathly shade of white and his teeth were chattering as he knew he had to get to chief Detective Gumshoe's office as soon as possible to have the writer of that note identified. He was worried silly and nothing would convince him otherwise of this trip even if it is on foot.

The morning sunlight of Autumn would be enough to make Phoenix shiver from the brisk gusts of frigid wind but he wasn't planning on slowing down; not now, not ever.

The ace attorney sped around a corner, skidding a little and disappeared around this corner far ahead of his underlings. He wasn't even aware that Athena was running as fast as her legs would allow as she led everyone after the runaway ace attorney. Adrenaline pumped through Phoenix's veins as he made his legs work as hard as they ever have done before, even though they ached pretty badly due to his age.

He made a little skid as he darted down the path, with his face full of indifference and alarm as he just wanted this sorted out and, mostly, the confirmation that what the letter said and who it was from was completely wrong. Usually the frigid Autumn air would make the man cold but this time he was not going to allow himself to be caught being sluggish towards the chillingly cold gusts of wind that would blow his way in a brisk gust of air.

From behind, however, his ears latched on to the clicks of running footsteps with heels drumming against the stone pathway forming a sidewalk heavily and he knew that those clicking feet.

Athena and the others way behind were growing exhausted as they stayed right on Phoenix Wright's tail but they continued to run as fast as they could manage to move their legs even though they were more than certain that they were going as fast as humanly possible yet their boss, a man whose coming ever closer to his golden years as each day passed.

Athena glared upon her horizon, growing more and more determined as she ran as fast as her legs carried her. In fact, everyone had leaned forwards in a desperate attempt to pick up the pace even though the team could feel the blood rush to their faces. The yellow-wearing woman felt her attention go from staring off towards the corner where her boss had just vanished behind and looked at the oldest of her adopted twin daughters.

Luna asked, dragging Star behind her as to help the younger twin keep up "Mother, did you sense the fear Mister Wright felt?"

Athena nodded once, her eyes staring down at her twin daughters who ran alongside her midst the employees working at the agency "Yes, Luna. I could sense the fear swallowing up Mr. Wright's other emotions as he read the contents of that letter!"

Apollo held Juniper tightly in his strong arms and held her close to his own chest as he ran with enough speed to closely rival Athena's "What do you think that letter was about, Athena?" He asked, raising a curious brow towards his co. worker.

The group finally reached the corner and sped around the corner to follow Phoenix Wright. They knew where the man was going as he headed towards the police station nearby! He was clearly very worried as they could hear his heavy breathing even from how far they were running behind him! They all thinned their determined glares towards the target and continued to race after him but they all noticed that the bystanders were beginning to gawk at them with somewhat angered looks.

None of the attorney-at-law heroes could pretend that the looks didn't send shivers down their spines but they didn't exactly care and Athena finally gave her answer, looking towards Apollo with her auburn brows furrowed in further determination "I intend to find that out!"

Apollo nodded and looked down at Juniper who sniffled and buried her paling face into her husband's strong chest. Apollo immediately grew concerned for Junie when she done this since she was beginning to turn a shade of sickly green and he could feel her fists tighten in his arms as she clutched on tightly to the fabric of his red sleeveless vest but also catching a finger on the teal necktie he wore.

"Juniper..." Apollo crooned softly but kept his legs working, he knew that this was probably due to her being out here in the fresh air like this. Because of her weak immune system, it meant that she could turn from relatively ok to quite ill within the batter of an eyelash and this was especially bad since because of her condition, her normal sickness had doubled in severity.

Athena looked at her childhood friend's face and saw how bad it looked and decided that it was now even more imperative that they reached the police office asap.

Trucy held on to Alakazam tightly yet the boy was wrapped up tightly in her bright blue magicians cape and she looked at the ginger-haired professional of analytic psychology worriedly "How much further?"

Athena continued to keep her sights on the path ahead but smiled when she saw the small but unmistakable form of Phoenix rushing up the steps of a certain building with the sign saying "Police center". That was it! They were getting closer!

The team dashed towards the police center with a new found strength as they ran towards the building. It didn't take very long at all to thunder up the stone staircase, each of their feet slamming against the stone slabs, and they tossed open the double doors so they could meet Phoenix inside and meet Detective Gumshoe. They found a place to lay Junie down to rest and the twins voted to stay with her whilst Trucy, a sleeping Alakazam, Athena and Apollo could go up and see what had their boss so scared frantic.

Juniper laid heavily on the sofa with her hand gripped in Apollo's. The couple stared sweetly into each other's eyes and Apollo tenderly planted a kiss on her knuckle and he whispered to her with the nicest of voices, his "chords of steel" very unusually toned down just for her and his horns of hair were standing on his head, shimmering in the bright ceiling lights looming overhead.

"Rest now, Juniper..." Apollo held her hand before laying it down on her chest "I'll be back in a minute."

Juniper gave her husband a weak smile, some colour returning to her pale skin as she began to recover from the sudden sickness that took hold of her while outside. She rested her palm on her heart where she felt the gentle fluttering of her very own heartbeat and her eyes were full of awe and high levels of love for Apollo "I'll be waiting, Apollo." She coughed a little but the smile was still on her lips.

Athena grabbed the suddenly-romantic, spiky-fringed attorney at law by the silk elastic material binding his necktie around his neck and collar and proceeded to pull him away from Juniper and drag him towards the lift "C'mon, lover boy...Up to the boss we go."

Apollo moaned sadly but didn't put up any fight as she dragged him even though the sudden yanking around his neck did earn a few shuffles and jerks of surprise. Trucy followed close behind with Alakazam still in her arms, fast asleep as his small round head rested on the lady magician's shoulder but he was no longer wrapped up in his mother's cape.

The trio wandered into the lift and waited for the doors to automatically close, which they did moments after entering.

It didn't take long at all to make it up to the main room where Phoenix was.

The room they were greeted with was actually very posh for one supposedly as underpaid as Detective Gumshoe although you wouldn't know it by the fact that his office was a very posh place to be indeed.

The walls were scarlet and vibrant, looking sort of like the soft material on a sofa and they even had cushion-like embroidings on the walls as small rough button lumps were stuck in the middle of each piece. The floor was made from the finest of olive green carpet and actually looked very exquisite. There were a few desks of some homicide detectives but they didn't appear to be present at the moment. There was even a magnificent chandelier hanging over their heads, how on earth could Detective Gumshoe have been so poor to afford all this?!

"Come on in, pals." A deep-throated, brooklyn-accented voice sounded with a lingering echo.

The three adults approached the desk where Phoenix and a fairly strong-built man wearing some pretty poor clothing sat at with a lamp standing between them.

Apollo, Athena and Trucy could only guess that _this _was detective Dick Gumshoe.

The group of four adults sat before the modestly-dressed detective and watched as he scanned the letter in question carefully, without paying anyone any heed or attention since he could sense the air of impending doom surrounding the group of four. He would bet his greying hair that something was critically wrong with this letter and was making Phoenix uneasy since from the moment the man came rushing into the room with that letter in his pocket.

After reading through the letter, Gumshoe placed it down in front of him and eyed the four adults wearily with a frown on his face of stubble "...It would seem that this is indeed the writing of none other than Kristoph Gavin, the very same man who was responsible for taking Mr. Wright's badge away and stuff. Have you received reports about the organization; Z.E.R.O?"

Phoenix nodded and as did Apollo. The organization Z.E.R.O was a very dangerous worldwide organisation who was bent on trying to destroy the court system and tried to also run the government into record depths for their foolish decisions. They had started out as a small group of gangsters but it soon expended into a cult and that cult grew into a world famous organization, the same exact organisation who a certain "living abyss" just so happened to work for...

Detective Gumshoe sighed and continued "Well...it would seem that they have placed a heavy bounty on you're heads, pals, and this letter clearly states that not only is newly-released inmates: Kristoph Gavin and one called the Phantom, now working for them but also it would mean that now everyone would be out to get you. When word of this bounty gets out, you'll all have ropes around you're necks..."

This was startling beyond belief. Kristoph had been released from prison, how!? The Phantom from seven years past too?! Not only that but now theres a chance that Kristoph and that murdering monster had made them all worlds-most-wanted!? Nobody could condone how horrible this truth had just suddenly become!

Everyone had turned as white as bed sheets and they began to sweat bullets.

Why was this suddenly happening to them?

The Detective looked around wearily as he spoke to his closest, black spiky-haired friend "Mr. Wright, pal, I would personally advise that you leave immediately and run. Run for you're lives and do anything to stay alive. I can tell that organization Z.E.R.O wants you dead or alive and all we at the police force can do is try to arrest them and only then will you be safe."

Phoenix hung his head low, closing his eyes sadly. His world had been turned upside down just now and now everyone he knew and loved was caught in a web, a web that nobody could escape from. He could feel all hope blow away like a strong wind...

Finally, the ace attorney looked up from his lap and said with determination lacing his every single word "Guys, we need to go..."

Catching their bosses' drift; Apollo and Athena stood up whilst Trucy still held on to Kazam. She was very worried for her family life crashing and burning like this. She decided to look on the brighter side of things and look at the fact that they will probably go on a journey world-wide.

"...Trucy?" Phoenix asked after a moments pause, turning to look at his adopted daughter. Worry filled his eyes as he watched the young woman stand to her feet while she still carried the little boy over her shoulder and cradled him lovingly against her chest. Trucy looked her father in the eye with an eager look in her eyes and a smile was stuck on her lips.

"C'mon, daddy," she smiled with a spunky fierce look on her face "Lets go tell the others about this."

Phoenix smirked at his daughter's unwavering determination. He was proud that she could keep her spirits up in this dark hour, she must have been much tougher than a nail to be able to accomplish this feat. He softened his eyes towards her and his heart swelled with joy and pride, feeling as if he could actually tackle the world.

"Thatta girl, sweetie..."

A forced journey with worldwide travels, probable danger, drama and probably a few court trials here and there?

Not really wanted by Phoenix's standards as he was not really the adventuring type but...BRING IT ON!

* * *

**A/N: It seems that this adventure is about to start! Phoenix seems to be ready to go along with this...even if he is totally estranged with the idea of being hunted down. It also seems that the Phantom and Kristoph had been released for whatever reason and now a strange new organization are looking for Phoenix and the gang for some odd reason since Kristoph had placed a huge bounty on their heads. The phantom too.**

**Lets see how Phoenix and everyone handles this...**

**Don't worry there will be trials and the court involved...what kind of Ace attorney WOULDN'T involve that kind of thing?!**

**Reviews are wanted and more than welcome. Thanks!**

**-Chloemcg**


	5. Comforts from the shock

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Juniper coughed and spluttered worriedly. She currently sat hunched over with Apollo tenderly stroking soothing shapes on her back, looking at her with a sympathetic frown. The florist and the twins had just been told the news about how they will have to travel the world to avoid being hunted like the prey they had suddenly become for that dreaded Z.E.R.O elite spy group that was very well known worldwide.

"Its okay, sweetheart, its alright..." Apollo soothed while gently rubbing Junie's back, feeling how tense she was under his tender strokes.

It was no secret that the poor girl was undoubtedly worried that as of now they were fugitives...or at least until word spreads about the bounty dropped on their heads. She was having the worst coughing fit ever now since there was never a moment in her life that made her this worried, not even in that courtroom bombing incident.

Athena and Apollo tried to calm her down as they both comforted her and tried to console Junie until her worries finally dulled and then that unborn child she carried also wouldn't be suffering from the stress she had suddenly been weighed down by. She felt her heart fluttering a mile a minute as she doubled over, forcing her head to the floor before the inevitable gagging started.

She was about to throw up!

"Uh oh, someone get a bucket...!" Phoenix yelled in panic but before anyone could make a move, Juniper had begun retching as she began to get rid of all her stomach contents. Everyone cringed at seeing the girl pull away to relieve her last meal and crinkled their noses in disgust, the vomiting was followed by more coughs and splutters.

Apollo caressed Juniper's hair and held it out of the way of her face. He had a sad look on his face as he gazed at her fallen head with pure worry embedded within his deep brown pools. Athena rubbed her fallen friend's back to assist her with getting her troubles out of her but she seemed a little more sympathetic that her friend was going through this while she was in this delicate condition.

It took a minute or two until the young woman had finally stopped vomiting her guts out and Apollo took a small bottle filled with a sky blue liquid inside from his trouser pocket and handed it to Juniper who instantly began to swallow it and shake it in her mouth, making sure the mouthwash she was undoubtedly just given had touched all the corners of her mouth to leave behind a minty fresh feeling inside her mouth.

Luna and Star both raised questioning brows at the spiky-fringed man "You carry mouthwash with you?"

Apollo nodded with a small smile plastered on his lips "I just come prepared for things like this."

The two girls looked confused. Does Apollo have mouthwash stored in his pocket all the time? That was sort of strange to think about as they pictured the young man drinking mouthwash before doing everything...including going into restaurants like a fretting posh guy. Actually they snickered at the thought.

Both Apollo and Athena helped Juniper sit back up and looked very concerned as she asked, perplexed about their current predicament. If Junie's face wasn't already green from her case of nausea then it had already turned into the palest of pale could get as she gripped on tightly to her husband's necktie without really thinking with tears welling up inside her eyes.

"...What are we going to do?" She squeaked after finally swallowing her mouthwash, her eyes wide and her hands trembling.

Apollo gently lowered his pregnant wife's hand off his mint coloured tie and held it compassionately while looking her reassuringly in the eye "We have to go and defend ourselves, we have to run away until the police finally catch that organization and only then we can return."

The meek young woman allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks, leaving little trails down her face and her lip was trembling in worry. She was understandably worried for her family, especially the baby she carried within her. She couldn't raise a little newborn while on the run and Apollo wouldn't be able to cope with it, she was certain of that. Juniper let out solemn whimpers from deep within her throat and felt her whole body shake with her stilled sniffles and sobs and she felt herself feel a little safer when she felt two arms wrap themselves around her and the person owning them pressing her face against his chest.

Apollo held her close to him as he ran a free hand along the back of Junie's head. He wished she didn't have to worry herself over this...

Juniper swallowed and sniveled "B-B-But..."

Apollo put a hand underneath Junie's chin and lifted her head so they could have direct eye contact. The man with the two horns of hair spoke with a voice soft yet stern "Juniper look at me..." She blinked back some tears but the whimpers still escaped her throat, making Apollo blink back compassionately as he gave her the most determined of glowers "I _promised _the day we got married that I would protect you with my life and the same goes with our baby. I know you're scared about what will happen to us but" His glower turned into a remarkably kindly smile "I think things are gonna be fine, I swear it."

Juniper looked deep into Apollo's eyes. They were shining with their own concern that mirrored hers yet there was something else...there was an ounce of heartfelt hope shining in those honest pools. She managed her own heartfelt smile and without even realizing it, she leaned her head forwards and their lips touched as they shared a very passionate kiss.

Phoenix and Trucy watched this loving scene with smirks on their faces. They couldn't help but hide their smirks as they furrowed their brows towards the group simultaneously, feeling like nothing could go wrong now. However, a certain current beanie-wearing man who usually was proud to show off his black spiky hair knew that this could not be the case since that letter had ruined everything.

Phoenix managed to get someone to mop up the spillage of vile stomach acid on the police office marble flooring while announcing that they needed to go and grab their things and within the total time of 10 minutes, they were back at the Wright anything Agency, already preparing to leave for somewhere else before something bad happened. How on earth did their lives suddenly flip on their heads? Why were they becoming wanted people? They all journeyed back to the agency so they could pack their bags with a rather eager skip in their step.

Apollo went home with Juniper so they too could pack some stuff and the same went with Athena and the twins. Trucy was packing some things up for herself, her adopted father and her son whom had both sat on the sofa in silence in the main room.

Phoenix bounced Alakazam on his lap, holding the little boy on there with his arms holding his small sides. He stared off into space as all he could think about was how completely surprising this was; going on a trip abroad while on the run from everybody in America and this crazy organization who were so high on the food chain that they even had the legal authority to treat Phoenix and his friends like world-wanted criminals.

The Ace attorney hoped that he would at the very least be able to squeeze in some trials in this trip. He REALLY didn't want to have to be stuck at the piano keys again since he hadn't done that in ages and honestly froze at the sight of pianos after that. Actually, he had heard rumor that a good friend of his **(A/N: I'm talking about Professor Layton, surprise!) **loved to play and was a very good pianist even though Phoenix thought that this friend's silk top hat was sort of mocking him at times.

He had to wonder how that top hat-wearing gentleman got along these days...

He broke out of his train of deep thought whence he heard the familiar high pitched squeak of a voice grab his attention "...Are we leaving?"

Phoenix looked down at Kazam and looked right into his round, rather sad-looking eyeballs. He felt so bad for the little child and wanted to shake his head with an assuring grin on his lips, wanted to just say "no" and that they would be fine...but he could not promise that, especially to a boy as young and sweet as him. He couldn't even lie to that sweet little face, either.

Shame hid behind the man's voice and he petted Alakazam on the head with a really sad smile "...I'm afraid so, buddy."

The boy seemed very saddened by that answer but if he was totally deflated by this then he done a decent job at hiding it. Kazam hung his head a little and said nothing but Phoenix decided to try and lift up his adopted daughters son's spirits a little bit "Hey, I know! Why don't you try showing me a magic trick you're mother taught you? I'd love to see one."

Kazam seemingly brightened up a little bit upon hearing this request. He jumped down from his adopted grandfather's lap and plopped down in front of the man with such a spark in his big saucer-like eyes and his plump little cheeks were all rosy from the excitement.

Phoenix watched with a sweet shimmering in his dark blue pools and he smiled, silently expecting the trick to be performed.

However before Kazam could even move an inch, Trucy emerged from the bedroom while carrying three suitcases that were bundled in her arms. She peered out from one side of the stack so she could see her adopted father and her little son "Guys I've finished packing our bag-oh!" she noticed that Alakazam was just lifting his own little cape as if to take something out from under the fabric. He looked away and apparently sported a heavy blush on his cheeks and abandoned his little trick without much hesitation.

Clearly Kazam was a little embarrassed to perform in front of his mother.

Phoenix raised yet another expecting brow towards the young two year old and asked whilst folding his arms across his otherwise strong chest "Alakazam, aren't you going to show me that little magic trick?"

The boy shuddered in response, his eyes wide and his breathing short and somewhat panicked. Unfortunately poor Kazam had a particularly bad case of stage fright so he couldn't perform in front of more than one person; a horrible downfall for someone who aspires to be a potential magician. He backed away towards the desk and dived underneath the wooden surface that was usually covered by Phoenix's swirly chair and decided to hide there to hopefully dismiss the fear he felt.

Phoenix sighed. He knew that asking the boy to perform in front of two people instead of one was too much to ask for.

He looked up from the floor and towards Trucy as he stood and took two of the suitcases from the pile his adopted daughter had.

"Are we all set to go, Daddy?" Trucy asked, her voice eager and her personality sharpened especially for this dangerous mission that reminded her of a film she watched when she was sixteen years old. She watched the same film recently.

Phoenix put a finger of deep thought to his chin, scratching it without really any self consciousness. He had called Edgeworth and asked for him to keep an eye on the place and to water Charley the plant while they were absent, a favor to which the chief prosecutor had happily accepted even though he was visibly worried about Wright and his team after catching wind of the wanted bounty placed over their heads and decided to help them out in anyway legally possible.

"Sorta...We just need to meet Athena and Apollo at our rendezvous point and then we should be home free."

However, just as Phoenix had said this, he saw something out of the corner of his eye which gleamed in the distance...it wasn't sunlight. To top things, there were voices coming into hearing range and they sounded really mad. '_Oh don't tell me this isn't what I think it is...' _The man preyed in his head as he rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains but only to reveal the horrible truth awaiting them down below.

Outside and chanting the words **"Give yourselves up" **was a HUGE ocean of civilians who lived in this nice little part of Los angeles California as they held up signs and banners saying nasty things which should never be repeated in the history of mankind. There was even one banner in particular that had a massive dollar sign on it, clearly hinting that huge reward!

How much money had been placed on their heads!?

"...Oh darn it..." Phoenix's face fell into one of shock and surprise. He didn't exactly have Athena's special sense of hearing but he could sense all the anger and desperation to their shouts and yells. Even though he wasn't exactly protesting, Guy Eldoon was there too...selling noodles it seems as he pushed his noodle cart through the massive sea of people even though he had a sorrowful look on his face as if he was genuinely sorry about the situation of everyone in the Wright anything agency, his most favorite customers and the second thing closest to family he had.

After blinking his eyes and forcing himself out of the possibility that this was a horrible dream, Phoenix rushed back inside and exclaimed in a rushed tone "Trucy we seemed to have hit a little snag," he pointed out towards the window he just looked out of "Look outside and you'll figure it out."

Trucy was confused but the female magician done as told and she wandered cautiously towards the window and peered out towards the ground below. When she turned to face her father again, her face had turned ghostly pale and her mouth formed a small o shape. "Oh." she muttered, grabbing the rim of her top hat and lowering it over her eyes to shield her expression of shock and horror.

She adjusted the rim of her hat before lifting it again, her eyes showing concern "Okay then, what do we do?"

It turned out that Phoenix had already thought of a solution as he quickly smuggled Alakazam out from under the desk and scooped the toddler into his arms before he began to run as fast as he could with the suitcases still bundled in his arms and he was out the door faster than anyone could mutter Objection.

Trucy jumped at the chance and ran after her only parent growing up out the door. She made sure to lock it behind her and she made a huge thunder down the staircase and rushed into another set of doors when she reached the small receptionists desk of the apartment complex. She carried her suitcase as tight as she could since all of her personal items belonged in the luggage and nothing could replace those invaluable belongings.

She made it into a small hidden car park where a moderate-sized car sat neatly, tucked behind a few other vehicles which most likely belonged to others who lived in the apartment. Her car matched the colour of her attire -bright azure blue.

Phoenix and Alakazam both waited by the car with somewhat impatient looks on their faces until they saw Trucy rushing towards them. Phoenix, Trucy and Kazam all dived into the seats of the car (Alakzam being strapped into his car seat by Phoenix before the two adults moved into their seats). They also tossed the bags into the back seats with Alakazam nestled beside the bags as he looked both startled and confused by the ongoing strangeness.

Without hesitation, Trucy floored the pedal and the car instantly sped out of the parking area and dashed out of a secret spot where the car could be driven undetected without any pairs of eyes glaring towards them. She continued to stomp her foot down on the pedal commanding the car to go at record speed, slickly and neatly weaving passed other cars that were somewhat imposing and intimidating.

"Mama," Alakazam called out in a meek voice "Why are we going so fast?"

Phoenix decided to answer the question since he saw that Trucy was too busy driving to notice anything else. He peaked over the head support of the silk seats that they all sat in "Because, Kazam, we need to leave immediately!"

The boy seemed even more puzzled "...But why are we leaving?"

Phoenix sent his grandson a sad look. He couldn't blame the poor lad for being totally confused but this shouldn't be talked of right now. They just needed to meet up with Apollo and Athena again. He just sighed heavily and told the child with some amount of sadness of the problem they were facing "...I'll tell you later, okay?"

This answer seemed to quiet the toddler for now as he just kept his head low.

Soon, after long painful minutes of driving, Trucy had parked alongside a red car that had some cloud stickers pasted on the hood and boot and that car was too familiar for everyone at the Wright anything to miss. The driver of the red car wound her window down and it revealed the driver as Athena who looked less then calm and collected. Athena had her ginger hair tied in a neat bun as if to keep it from going all messy and caught into anything sharp and pointed.

The lawyer/psychology expert sighed, her head hung over the steering wheel of her car "...HUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNGGGGGGHHH..."

Phoenix peeped from behind his adopted daughter "Woah, I haven't heard a sigh that long since Solomon Starbuck."

Athena looked at her two comrades with bleary, heavy eyes "Yeah, I suppose it grows on you after these kind of events."

It was then that Trucy noticed something as she peered out from the window and she noticed that a certain car was absent from the point of meeting. It was sort of troubling that Apollo wasn't there but she could not help but question the lack of a certain man with the great set of lungs' presence as she asked aloud "Where is Polly and Juniper?"

Athena seemed to have been in deep thought following this query. It was no secret that Apollo was sort of reluctant on leaving yet he clearly wanted to protect Juniper and would do anything to do so but that didn't exactly mean that he should abandon the idea completely since he was always one to see things through; he wouldn't run even at the cost of his own life, no matter what...where would that young man have gone to delay the trip? Her eyes brightened up at a single possibility.

"I'll go get him!" Athena smirked suddenly, using the car to reverse before performing an illegal U-turn and driving away and leaving Phoenix and Trucy alone by the long road ahead that led out of the city they lived in and probably out of the country. They had a slight hunch that they knew where Apollo would be to delay this journey a little bit. Maybe he was just visiting a friend before leaving?

Oh, how right they were...

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**A/N: Thats the end of this chapter, guys. It would seem that Apollo is out of the team for a while and it would seem that the outlaw thing has already started to run wild and rampant. **

**Where could have Apollo and Juniper gone? BTW, I added a JunieXApollo moment in here since I love the couple and think those two look sweet together. I hope that was okay for you all. Thanks and please review!**

**-Chloemcg**


	6. Apollo's goodbye

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Athena wandered on to a silent hilltop, just having requested Luna and Star to stay in the car while she went to find Apollo. She had arrived at a graveyard to try and find Apollo and Juniper since she had a feeling that Apollo would want to meet a certain someone here...plus she too had someone to pay a visit to in this very graveyard.

She had lost someone very special to her but that horrid past had been buried long ago, seven years after this initial loss. She had the suspicion that Apollo probably wanted to say "hello" and "goodbye" to a certain lifelong friend of his before leaving for an adventure unknown.

The sun had already began to set over the horizon so it was going to get dark soon.

This day went by impossibly quick.

With each step, Athena heard the grass crackle under her feet. It was as if the earth below was just a bush that had the most crackly of twigs and leaves stuck to it. The young woman walked up the steep hill with her bright blue eyes wistful and full of reminiscence for that court trial all those years ago. She had been accused of murdering her own mother when she was the mere age of twelve years old but thankfully Mr. Wright proved that it wasn't her but someone else, a certain detective to be more specific.

Apollo took that trial pretty rough since it was also about the killing of his best friend, a young man named Clay Terran. He was filled with anger and dispair for the situation that he actually thought that Athena had viciously killed her, it clearly tore him on the inside to think that of his co. Worker and he was ashamed when he finally found out the truth too, at the disassembling of Athena being the accused who committed this heinous crime.

Apollo tried to hide it but it was more than noticeable that he was hurting a lot over his death on occasion even though that case had been resolved years back.

His marrige to Juniper managed to dispel this downheartedness quite a bit so Apollo was very frequently happy...even though Apollo still went to see his friend's grave.

Actually, Athena soon found the young man kneeling down in front of a gravestone with his wife standing a little ways behind him when she reached the flat top of the hill she had spent a few minutes climbing with the amber glowing sunlight reflecting off her ginger, wing-shaped bangs.

Sympathy sunk to the pit of Athena's stomach as she sighed solemnly while walking towards the scene, going to make an attempt to calm the man down from his more than likely spiral of sadness.

She approached Apollo whom had his back turned on her as he stared at the headstone of Clay's grave, emitting an air of sadness around him as the surrounding area was eeriely silent yet the trees were being rocked a little by the breeze blowing around the graveyard and creating a lullaby made from nature.

This briefly reminded Athena of the fact that Junie had once took her outside where they laid on the grass while closing their eyes and opening their ears to listen to the gentle rustling of the trees. Juniper told her once that the soothing cradling of the trees around her was much like mother nature's own lullaby for those pure hearted and Athena fell asleep to these gentle sounds while Junie had done the same. She couldn't remember much of what happened after but she could most definitely recall being a little girl at the time.

Finally, Athena stood behind her friend with a certain look in her light blue eyes. She reached an arm out to lay a hand on Apollo's shoulder but it turned out that she didn't even need to do so as Apollo had already knew her presence.

"...Hi Athena." Apollo grumbled.

The ginger-haired woman retracted her arm and looked down at her spiky-combed friend. She didn't expect him to suddenly become aware of her like that without even so much as looking to see if she was behind him! It was sort of unnerving that the young man had already figured out that she was there but she decided to brush it off, not wanting to spend much longer than she needed.

She raised one brow and furrowed the other "Are you okay?"

In response the man sighed and shivered in fright, clearly frightened by something "I thought that emotionless monster had been locked up with the key buried and gone...why was he released?"

Athena shrugged. Honestly she couldn't condone it, either. Why on earth would people want that spy free of his punishment?! As a matter of fact who would want someone responsible for getting Phoenix Wright's badge confiscated, forgeries and two murders!? It didn't really make any sense in the very least since dangerous criminals needed to be locked away. Who it their right mind would set them loose? Neither attorneys at law could figure it out or even try and comprehend it but they both had their suspicions on how bad this could be if they were actually brought to organisation Z.E.R.O!

Athena simply shook her head, closing her eyes as she done this "I don't know, Apollo, I really don't." She sighed and she too knelt down beside Apollo so she could wrap a friendly arm around his shoulder to assure him "I also sense the fear in you're voice, you're worried about what those monsters would do to Junie and you're baby. I know you are."

Apollo nodded and absent-mindedly rubbed at his bracelet, running two of his fingers along the slick golden surface of the ringlet cuffing his wrist. He couldn't deny the fear he felt of what the Phantom would do to his family whenever he got his hands on them. He thinned his eyes in a angry scowl and slammed a fist down on the soil that laid in front of Clay's head stone with his teeth gritted tightly.

"I-If the Phantom _dares _hurts either of them t-then I'll...I'll-!" Apollo was cut short of his tantrum when he felt some pats on the back silence him. He knew exactly who it was who was doing this and he looked over his shoulder behind him and was overcome with surprise when he noticed that Juniper had knelt down behind him just like Athena had done but she was actually patting his back with a sweet, adorable smile tugged at her lips and her eyes were slightly lidded to show that she was really happy and in love with him.

The flower girl grinned softly and said in her usual soft-spoken voice "Don't worry about us, Apollo. It'll be okay and if that meanie Phantom comes at us then we can both count on you to save us and your also surrounded by loved ones so they can help you anytime you get caught in a bind."

Apollo looked down in deep thought, allowing this to sink in. He knew that his wife had a point, a very good one actually. He would not hesitate risk his own life for the price of the two other lives that he treasured lots, that involved Mr. Wright, Trucy and Athena.

He managed a small but heartfelt smile while looking at his wife "...You're right, Juniper." He clasped her hands and looked adoringly into her browny-grey eyes and he could not deny that his heart was pounding like a bongo drum. He would always be there to protect his loved ones and if anyone got in the way of that then they would assuredly receive a few bruises at most.

As the three sat there on the hill, they felt a small gust of wind pick up some autumn leaves and carry them off into the breeze yet those same wind currents stroked passed Junie, Thena and Polly. It was as if the free spirits of their loved ones, friends or family, was caressing the group and they couldn't help but take in the beauty of this fine sunset as the skies were set aglow and had been coloured a magnificent orange to compliment the sun setting over the horizon.

They all closed their eyes with small smiles as the wind caressed their faces and the dead leaves blew away, their hair blowing right along with the gentle wind currents in the air.

They might have been on their knees but that didn't mean that they couldn't exactly ignore the draft yet it also felt so clear and serene. It mixed with the normally sad atmosphere brought on by this place yet there was also a sense of peace and tranquility, as if the lost spirits were rejoicing at being able to leave the confines of laws and physics.

Apollo then remembered what he was doing here in the first place and he reached behind his back to grab something, feeling both of the girls examining the headstone from either side of him while peeking over each shoulder with a clear yet almost child-like curiosity.

The red clad attorney with the double spiked fringe finally dug out a single orchid and proceeded to place it on the soil, in front of the pilot's hat that belonged to the deceased Apollo was currently paying a visit to. That was not all he wanted to bestow on the soil covering up Clay's deceased form down below as he dug out something else. He removed a folded blue piece of clothing that appeared to have been a simple jacket but it was also tattered slightly. It was Clay's special HAT-1 jacket, the same item that Apollo wore for awhile shortly after the young man's death before finally letting go of the guilt of his death as well as quelling the doubt he felt towards Athena at the case...or at least some of it.

Set on top of the blue jacket that had been neatly folded up, was a small candle that had been lit as it sat atop of the bundle and Apollo laid it down next to the flower he also laid there moments prior.

"Clay, buddy, if you can hear me, I need to give you you're jacket back..." Apollo smiled towards the headstone that read in etched letters **_"Here lies Clay Terran; age 23, best friend, aspired to be amazing astronaut"_** and he began to speak in an unusually soft voice.

"I held on to it long enough and I figured you might want it since it is yours and I'll be going away for awhile." He chuckled nervously while scratching at his head.

He then looked a bit sad again "I honestly don't know when I'll come back but I thought that you should guard you're own belongings until then." He looked even sadder "and a day hasn't gone by when I don't think of how I could've saved you from the Phantom killing you...You never even fulfilled you're dream like I've fulfilled mine." He felt a single tear roll down his cheek, leaving some wet lines down his face, and the tear drop hung suspended for a moment before finally dropping down on Clay's jacket, leaving a small damp dot as it impacted against the comfy material.

He drew in a deep breath and let it out again. It was the only thing that he could do to stop himself from breaking down there and then. He sadly wiped an arm across his face to dry his own tears and he forced a smile "But at least you're fine now, no more pain or worries. You'll forever be fine now that you're back with you're mom." He wasn't really thinking as he extended an arm and placed his hand down on a part of the gravestone like one would when putting a hand of reassurance on another's shoulders.

The red-wearing lawyer bowed his head and looked at the stone while sparing one last smile to the stone slate poking out from the ground "I can't wait to be reunited with you, Clay Terran." He stood up with a smirk of confidence on his face, genuine confidence. It was as if speaking to Clay spiritually had completely wiped all his fears away with one fell swoop. He nodded towards the girls and they smiled right back and they too began to walk towards the car park with a slight skip in their spirits yet they also joyfully wandered down the hilltop.

Apollo was just about to follow them when he stopped to think for a moment.

He heard Athena's voice yell out in pure ecstasy "C'mon, Mr. Wright, Trucy and Alakazam won't wait on us forever!"

The young man with the twin horns of hair protruding from the top of his brown tufts of hair grinned and shook his head. Athena clearly would never change in the least since she always had this upbeat voice, trying to lighten things up like a candle, and she always managed to put a smile on peoples faces with her kind yet stubborn demeanor. He hoped that the joy she brought to everyone would never fade.

Apollo looked one last time up towards the sky and smiled warmly. He wanted to say one last thing even though the wind was the only thing listening "Y'know...I have a feeling that we'll be fine and you need to wait for me. Oh and say "hi" to Metis Cykes for me."

With that said, Apollo ran to catch up with the girls. He had been filled with this new confidence that bridged up to even his dark brown eyes that were filled to the brim with pure faith that whatever was coming his way next, everything would be fine.

He chased after the two girls with such a smile in his heart that it would most likely never fade, he felt like he could tackle the world now!

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**A/N: Sorry guys, I NEEDED to add a scene like this. Apollo just wanted to say goodbye to Clay, it seems. Lets see what will happen next and hopefully we'll see the villains of this story in the next chapter, lets see where this goes shall we? **

**Thanks guys and reviews would be HIGHLY appreciated.**

**-Chloemcg**


	7. Wanted dead or alive

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The drive was nothing short of silent and awkward.

Trucy had been driving with as much precision as one could ever muster as she tried to fit her driving skills in with the cars surrounding her, trying her hardest to blend in with the other drivers and trying to hide her face as much as possible. She even removed her silk top hat as to not arouse suspicion and draw attention to her and the others. Her dark coffee brown locks flowed behind her head as she kept her gaze locked on the dark endless path of road ahead.

Darkness had engulfed everything within an hour after departing for places unknown. Pitch blackness had swallowed everything except the road dragging out in front of them and she could vaguely make out the harrowing silhouettes of the small trees standing on either side of the road and she also saw the shapes of some fencing around each grassy pasture those pitch black shadowy shapes of trees that nestled narrowly on each side of the long road ahead.

The headlights only showed a small amount of the road in front of the car but Trucy was still able to see a small portion of the road in front of her. Plus the other cars were very distinctive sights as their headlights too would be on and she would instantly catch wind of what to do to avoid them. Luckily it was too dark for the other drivers to see Trucy's face clearly even though it was more than likely that the huge bounty dropped on everyone working for Phoenix Wright, and Phoenix himself, had been spread to other parts of America.

Her mind was reeling with questions:

Why were they wanted by Z.E.R.O? Who were they? What could they possibly want with a bunch of defense attorneys?

The budding magician had no answer for any of those questions and honestly that fact annoyed her to quite an extent. Everyone was innocent and didn't do ANYTHING disastrously illegal so why them in particular. Her best guess would have been revenge since the letter _was _written by Kristoph Gavin and the Phantom was involved too, yet it still didn't make sense. Why would they need the entire world searching for them?

A heavy sigh left her throat as she looked across towards the passengers seat and saw her adoptive father sleeping with his cheek being squished against the window and his mouth was hanging open, loud snorts and sleepy snores erupting from the bottom of the man's throat. Trucy would have smirked at the sight if not for the fact that a sudden groggy voice caught her attention.

"...Wah? Mama?"

Trucy looked in the upper mirror and discovered that Alakazam was rubbing at his eyes tiredly yet it was clear that he was still half asleep.

The woman's voice was laced with worry and concern "Kazam, why are you awake? Try to go back to sleep please..."

Alakazam just looked surprised in response to this. His mother seemed to have been a bit tense and he could sense it, but he decided not to press it any further. He didn't wish to make her even more stressed than necessary since that would be a bad move on his part. He knew how his mother could get when stressed and he didn't wish to deal with that. He decided to close his eyes for a little bit and try to get some more rest like he was asked to.

Trucy's eyes were glued to the road in front of her. This day sure went by quickly and she wasn't even sure where to go at this point. They couldn't find a hotel since they would undoubtedly give them up without a thought even with a bribe as their capture cost WAAAAY more then any money they could give, that and nobody would be much good at keeping a secret anyway since they couldn't trust just anyone at this point.

She sighed a little. This was all giving her a headache. She wanted to snuggle up in a bed somewhere nice and cozy but it seems like even that simple wish was too much to hope for.

However she was snapped out of her thoughts when something started buzzing and vibrating in her pocket. Trucy looked down towards the pocket of her cape and discovered that it was her phone making the noises. She reached into her pocket, shifting her hand to steer the wheel of the car while she done this, and removed the small slick device from its warm little compartment that made a snug fit inside that little pouch. She pressed a button on the phone and held the device in her palm.

"_Hello, Trucy!" _Athena's voice rang loud and clear despite her voice coming from the other line yet there was a certain urgency to it.

Trucy's eyes brightened up at hearing her friend's voice. She never expected to hear her voice but before she could inquire about this call Athena abruptly cut in "_Turn on the radio, listen to the news! Its the Cosmos space center! Its-!" _

She was cut off when Trucy put the phone down and quickly reached towards a small dial a little towards the left of the wheel and within moments of doing this action, she heard a man's deep voice begin announcing some really strange stuff that not even Trucy -a magician who lives for the unknown- would be prepared to listen to with calm, open ears.

"_We now get to breaking news. Scientists have recently discovered some new findings belonging to the long since deceased Metis Cykes, some equipment that could apparently read people's thoughts and trace a specific persons heart rate. However we have recently discovered that those items mysteriously vanished during the shipping of some new metal alloy that was supposed to have been examined by Aura Blackquill, sister of prosecutor Blackquill. We have reason to believe that the theft was committed by organisation Z.E.R.O!" _

The man speaking on the radio sounded baffled as he said this. It sounded as though he was just reading stuff on paper and only when he repeated it, he discovered what this really meant. However things quickly became bad when the host started moving to another subject that was as equally bad to hear for Trucy and all of the team, even Phoenix seemed to have awoken by this time and he peered in to listen with eyes gleaming with interest.

"_Anyways we also caught word that a handsome price of handing over some individuals over to the company has been issued. These people request that if you ever see a defence attorney by the name of Phoenix Wright then to apprehend him immediately but also to grab his accomplices too, repeat: if you see Phoenix Wright and company then turn them in immediately." _

Everyone sat in silence. They didn't need to hear that piece of information again since the day had already been hard enough as it was. Now a new question arose from hearing this radio broadcast and that question was simple enough:

Why go through the trouble of collecting gadgets like that?

Everyone had turned a ghostly pale colour as they drove in silence, not being able to utter a single word as any words had died in their throats and their eyes were bulging and were close enough to actually popping out from their eye sockets.

Trucy slowly and stiffly picked up the phone that rested on her lap and held it right by her ear, her face frozen in horror of what she had just heard and her voice was all quivery and shaky from terror "...Thanks, Athena...we needed to hear that." She slowly pressed a button and she hung up.

Athena too seemed completely stunned to have heard that over the phone and nobody could blame her. Athenas mother's research had been pilgrimaged from the robotics lab back at the Cosmos space centre and now she must have been absolutely downhearted.

Phoenix swallowed hard. He could think of a few reasons why organisation Z.E.R.O would have stolen those specific items... One of those reasons being that tracking him and the others down would be made fifty times easier now that they could probably track them in a crowded place just by listening to their thoughts or keeping track of their heart beats.

The man broke into a very cold sweat as Phoenix pulled at his hoodie collar, his golden locket being worn around his neck, and nodded towards Trucy with a bold look in his eyes "Trucy, honey, we need to find a place to stop for the night. We can't drive like this forever."

Trucy couldn't argue there. They did, indeed, next a place to rest and recuperate yet the problem lain solely on who to trust not to rat them out and stab them in the back. She did have a place in mind, however, a place away from leering eyes and a place where they could rest without much hassle. A small smile twisted at the corners of the magicians lips and she swept her bangs out of her eyes neatly as she grabbed on to the wheel with both hands, her digits wrapping around the circular shape controlling the car.

"Hang on, Daddy, I know a place!" She exclaimed as she floored the pedal beneath her foot and the car swerved off into the right and found its way on to a lane off the neat road that didn't involve many bumps and potholes on the floor.

Athena and Apollo's cars followed suit even though everyone had a feeling that this wasn't going to win any favours when they finally had their rendezvous and got a good chat over and done with.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and sorry that we didn't see neither Kristoph nor the Phantom here but we did get some info. Where is Trucy taking Phoenix and the others? Will they live to see another day? **

**Find out next time in "Rise of the fallen"! **

**Please review! **

**-Chloemcg **


	8. Revenge strikes back!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Darkness grew and a deep colour of indigo had blackened the skies above.

Everything was but a black void where it fed on the surrounding shadows and other residue to hide the deeper secret hiding in the most convenient of venues: a small inn-like place in the middle of nowhere.

The small building had been hidden in complete darkness amongst some trees and vines of a grove it had been constructed in. This place too appeared to be no more than a silhouette because of the shadows being cast as well as the pitch black terrain. The only thing that had ANY colour in this environment was the vines and other decorative nature and plant life.

What was this place, one would ask?

It was a place of nightmares, a base for a certain organisation.

The inside wasn't as dark as the outside since whatever was happening within this dank, rotting building was transpiring in the building's apparent wine cellar.

Kristoph Gavin smirked as he tweaked his glasses on the bridge of his nose, feeling a great surge of power pump directly into his body and soul. Long he had awaited his revenge on that pitiful excuse of a defense attorney and now he could basically feel the opportunity give his fingertips a light electric and his thirst for revenge was ever lasting and couldn't be quenched. He wanted to see Phoenix Wright squirm like a piglet in his grip as he crushed the life out of him.

The so-called "gentleman" could feel some shreds of the dim lighting of the room put the lens of his glasses in an ivory sparkle and the crystal lens of these visionary assistance was so shiny that even a monkey would want to pinch them off him when he wasn't looking. He could imagine taste of victory, the sights of the blood pouring out of Phoenix's wound as he stabbed a katana in that man's chest and making the man die in the slowest, most agonizing way possible.

Kristoph was almost overcome with happiness at these thoughts and even rubbed the palms of his hands in a sinister way without really realizing it.

"You're getting a little too excited aren't you, Mr. Gavin?" A voice asked from behind, prompting Kristoph to turn his head towards the figure standing behind him. The man was wearing a mask of another man's face, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's face to be more specific, and he even wore a white suit with a red silk bow tie to make him look very formal.

The Edgeworth impostor (the Phantom in other words) removed his lifelike mask of Edgeworth and placed it down on a small wooden surface of a nearby desk with other forms of occupational-related pieces of parchment underneath the gentle rays of light beaming off of a lampshade hovering above the paper. The black theatrical mask covered his face other than that and he seemingly wore a smug grin.

Kristoph brushed off the question with a dismissive roll of the head and folded his arms across his chest impatiently "Well forgive me for showing my enthusiasm..."

And that apparent smirk had vanished in one swoop.

This sarcastic remark warranted a deep growl from the otherwise emotionless Phantom. Kristoph could practically sense the anger radiating from the strong man's aura and he could tell that the bull would be at the ready to charge at any moment now. He smiled a sly smile and quirked a blonde brow at the raging Phantom.

He didn't care that he was probably going to get hurt since he had learned to conceal all signs of weakness long ago while in solitary confinement, just like how the Phantom had learned to control what little emotion he had in his psyche profile while he had worked under their current superior. The man they worked for was one who too had a deep grudge against Phoenix Wright and the courts. This man was a blackmailing, slimy genius who had done well to keep himself alive at this point. Apparently he was a certain someone who wanted to make Phoenix and his accomplices die by his own bare hands, someone who nearly died because of him.

Neither the Phantom nor Kristoph thought that the defense lawyer would go to such a length as to sentence a man to death.

Deciding to move on to another subject, Kristoph flashed a grin while asking "So, my good man, how did the Prosecutor party go?"

The Phantom's expression and posture both changed within the instant that question had left the former lawyer's lips. It was as if he was more than happy to speak about his earlier "errand" that he had to run by the orders of the head of organization Z.E.R.O and to explain it in as little detail as possible. He twirled a cane in his fingers before slamming it against the ground with a triumphant smirk with a evil smile toying at his eyes.

"Oh," The Phantom let out a hearty laugh "I think our little Edgie had spread the word of Wright's capture."

Kristoph returned the terrifying grin and he too narrowed his eyes into a scorn of pleasure "I'm certain he has...But what of the _real _Chief of Prosecution?"

The Phantom once again said very vaguely with a grim smirk twisting his hidden face "Locked him in the confines of his master bedroom within his mansion and I had him knocked out so he probably wouldn't recall even going to bed." He hung his head slightly, however "Yet he had apparently helped Mr. Wright and company allude us for the time being."

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk. That will not do..." _Someone in the shadows tut tutted and left a short-lingering echo.

Both Kristoph and the Phantom's eyes widened upon hearing that slick voice and they both turned simultaneously to face a table that stood just underneath a dimly-lit spotlight beaming down from a lamp hanging on the rank ceiling overhead. However, the duo's eyes were locked on the man who sat at the desk with his pair of pink-peach hands resting atop the mahogany surface even if his fingers were drumming to an interesting rhythm that neither of them had ever heard.

The man's face was revealed a little in the light as he glared evil daggers at his two employees even though a sadistic smirk was yanking at his crooked lips. His face was covered in fading white lines all across his face as if something had made him scratch himself relentlessly awhile back and his brown hair was all swept back yet his face had "psychotic" written all over his face. He even wore a 80's style red and white all over it, especially red on the pointy shoulder parts with the matching high collar.

The man smiled wickedly while picking up a glass full of a cherry red liquid and offering it towards the pair of newly released criminals "I gone through the trouble of convincing the public to let the both of you out and you were both mulling over the thought of escaping. What good are the pair of you if you dudes don't think outside the box?"

Kristoph and the Phantom were silent. They couldn't fathom what their superior was talking about in the least since they were fully aware of what was going on until this point. The man decided to give the pair a clue of why he had hired the two of them for the job he was requesting. He sighed and focused his gaze on the both of them "Phantom, you had blown up a rocket ship years ago for me and made sure that good-for-nothing cliche samurai had taken the fall for you, you even murdered a friend of one of Mr. Wright's students and the mother of another just to get some crucial evidence regarding you're crime."

The Phantom nodded his head with a prideful grin. He was proud of accomplishing those feats by himself. He would never regret them since those three goody-two-shoes had gotten what they each deserved. However Blackquill had been released scot free.

The man then focused on Kristoph "Mr. Kristoph Gavin, you had managed to accomplish the amazing feat of having Phoenix Wright's badge taken away and not only that but you also forged evidence that ushered the good ol' dark age of the law and you killed that stuck up lawyer's former client of that case in the coldest blood possible. You even poisoned the ones who created those forgeries for you."

It was Kristoph's turn to smile. He may of failed his ultimate objective in the end but he did indeed make it so the man didn't have a proper occupation in years and he would be more than certain to make that bluffing defense attorney pay for ruining his plans.

The boss continued "I wouldn't think of a better team to end the miserable lives of the accomplices, I wouldn't _trust _anyone else other than you." He scowled at the two men standing before him, the word "trust" being spat out as he put the rim of the cup to his lips and took a small sip of the wine that half filled his fine glass. He didn't trust anyone, he just needed those other guys out of the way so he could finish Phoenix Wright himself. His eye twitched when he recalled that "Not guilty" verdict. Either way he would have been running from a very betrayed assassin even though Phoenix and Edgeworth had sentenced him to a cruel death.

He would _never _forgive that poor excuse of a lawyer and posh, snooty prosecutor for doing that to him.

He gave a hand signal towards a guard standing at a corner of the room, blending in with the shadows that stretched in a few places and the agent indeed came forwards and dropped a cloth carrying some strange equipment that shimmered like gold in the slight light being shone down from above.

Nobody knew what these items were but didn't question it as the man snarled through a nasty chuckle, hands shuffling through the items that had been gathered and he pushed a set each towards the two men whom had both grabbed on to the small set of gadgets and examined them while the machinery rested in each of their palms with keen interest.

"Mr. Phantom, you should recognize these gadgets as Doc Metis Cyke's creations." The man cackled lowly and it was enough to send chills down Kristoph's spine although the Phantom himself shown absolutely no signs of intimidation remarkably. It was amazing what a man with little emotions could do when given the right training, right opportunity and the right situation!

After examining these strange little devices carefully the Phantom finally looked up back towards his superior, his brows apparently knitted together in confusion "These can apparently make you see into people's minds and they also track a person by their particular heartbeat," He grinned evilly "I see..."

Kristoph smiled an equally devious grin even though most his his face was concealed within the surrounding shadows and rubbed his hands together once again in an eager kind of friction "All we need to do is track our little runaway mice is with these little compact gadgets or leave them for a responsible member for the public to pick up..." He thickened his icy cold beaming towards his boss "Isn't that correct...Mr. Engarde?"

Matt Engarde smiled and nodded his head whilst fumbling with his fingers, putting his glass down before doing this. He was indeed Matt Engarde, a former blackmailing con-artist who saw everyone other than himself as a means to tie up his loose ends. He almost died once and now he was returning with a pure vengeance and he was going to strike hard.

"Yes, find them and bring that man to me dead or alive. I would very much like to disassemble and toss him out into the ocean where someone would sooner or later discover his severed body parts. He really wished to hear those screams of terror pierce the air after discovering what was left of that man's corpse. However before he stood up, he did say something to his two lackeys with his back turned coldly on the both of them "However you can _dispose _of Mr. Wright's accomplices if you would wish."

Both Kristoph and the Phantom shared an equally sadistic grin. They could just picture cutting down their enemies, enemies who deserved to die for just breathing alone. They were both more than willing to accept this job now that they were able to kill somebody!

They didn't waste a moment in rushing out the door with eager spirits and to gather up an army of their own so they could become predators to their prey.

Moments after the pair had left to go and find Phoenix and Trucy Wright, Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes and everyone else an agent spoke up with a deep voice that held no emotion what so ever yet it did sound curious too.

"But, sir, what if they are really Interpol tricking us?"

Matt smirked while cackling like a mad man "...Simple, my good friend, we _slaughter_ them." His cackle became louder and louder in volume so it soon found itself echoing out into that cold, harrowing night air that howled as the winds blew passed.

What was going to happen next?

* * *

**A/N: OOOOOOOH! Matt Engarde is behind all this! What a plot twist and a cliffhanger! Now we have Kristoph and the Phantom working together to take down Phoenix and the others with the technology Metis had made earlier all those years ago. **

**Will Phoenix, Trucy and co. make it through this adventure? Will they survive to live another day? **

**Find out next time (or maybe tomorrow) in chapter 9 of "Rise of the Fallen" and don't worry, there WILL be court trials here and there. I promise you guys that. **

**Thanks...**

**-Chloemcg **


	9. Wonder bar shambles

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The cars had been neatly parked and our heroes each huddled into a small crowd, trying to talk their plans over along with a few rules to prevent them from getting tangled into anymore trouble and they didn't really stand out much in the darkness surrounding them.

The only source of light through the intense darkness was the multicoloured neon lights beaming off the sign for a small club-like building that also doubled as a log cabin and this nice touch gave it an almost cozy and humble look about it.

Trucy gave a low, shaky sigh as she pointed towards the building with big eyes "Welp..." She nodded her head towards the small building "Here it is, the Wonder bar."

Phoenix seemed awestruck. His adopted daughter had to come all the way here at fifteen years old by herself!? This made him wish that he had tagged along with her to keep her safe...but then again, Apollo did managed to accompany her when he first started working at the Wright anything agency so of course having someone with her should have made his fears diminish a little like the dying kindle of a flame.

The ace attorney's eyes were wide as his mouth gaped open "So this is where you've been working?"

Trucy turned to face her adopted father and nodded. She knew the fact that this place was a little far from home was probably making Phoenix consider making her switch places of show biz occupation but she didn't want to worry the others at the moment so she sighed heavily and looked at the group with heavy eyes.

"Look, guys." She said "The person who owns this place is a woman named Mrs. Blunts and shes the manager and-"

"Wait WHAAAAAAAAT!?" Apollo screamed although Athena slapped a hand on his mouth to silence him and both she and the twins all shushed their loud friend at the same time and they each bore a scowl on their faces to make their point.

The three girls glared at their accomplice, silently telling him to be quiet.

They all stood there in suspense. Did Apollo's slip of his "Chords of steel" attract any unwanted attention towards them?

Luckily, after moments of standing as still as statues, their postures relaxed since they were now more than certain that nobody had heard that outburst. At least Apollo didn't get anyone to come running where they could be potentially ratted out since that would be horrible. Phoenix decided to intervene before anything else happened that could get them potentially spotted, holding Alakazam in his arms so the boy could rest his head on his shoulder.

The ace attorney cleared his throat whilst cradling his grandson's head in his palm, stepping forwards "So, are you sure that this is a safe place?" He looked towards Trucy with a quirked, wiry brow "Nobody will rat us out?"

The magician gave a few nods. She was more than certain that they would be safe in there as long as they kept a pretty good bargain exchange in return for their safety and she had a pretty good idea on how to strike this particular bargain and assure that they wouldn't be tattled upon.

Trucy hugged her arms to keep herself warm, feeling a sudden gust of frigid air blow passed and she ducked her head in between her shoulders. She could tell that this evening was incredibly dark for any regular evening and the fact that she could barely see a thing amidst the pitch blackness of their surroundings. Shadows could be considered both an ally and an enemy for people considering how they perceived the concept of darkness and Trucy (along with everyone else) considered it highly as an enemy since they could not make out much in the stretching darkness of this horrifyingly cold evening.

She nodded her head slightly "Yeah...I'm sure."

Athena finally released her hand from Apollo's mouth so he could finally breathe and speak on his own terms but she could sense some resentment in the man's heart but it wasn't towards anyone there presently strangely enough. It was as if the anger was directed towards someone else! She sighed and lowered her eyes at the feeling of something nestling close to her and pulling at the material of her trouser leg, knowing exactly what this was. She could basically see those two innocent eyes staring back up at her as she decided to hold her adopted daughter's close to reassure them both.

"It's alright girls..." Athena wrapped her arms around Luna and Star and enveloped them in a protective hold against her.

It was then that a certain girl asked a question in her usual soft-spoken voice "But what do we do to make them swear our movements don't get leaked?"

Trucy remained silent. That was a good question indeed. Clearly Mrs. Blunt wasn't an easy woman to strike a good bargain with and they needed to think their next move over carefully. They needed to think ahead but also keep track on their current movements at the same time.

She decided to give Juniper the answer to the question she had just asked "...We just need to make our bargain strong."

Everyone was silent for a few moments. They each decided to go inside before they were caught in the dead of night even though the darkness of the night had basically concealed their presence. They trudged in the cold autumn air, hearing the sounds of dead leaves crunching beneath the mighty heels of their shoes as they made a rather slow stride towards the building. They felt the wind blow at their outfits briskly as they boldly approached the building in front of them, continuing to shield each other in their little huddled position.

Apollo took the lead with his hand grasping Junie's damp, sweaty one. Behind him was Athena who gently pushed both Luna and Star in her hold. Trucy carried the suitcases she had originally brought along with her (including the magical props) in their usual well-balanced stack in her arms and Phoenix had continued to hold Alakazam softly yet protectively, the little boy sound asleep.

They all inwardly shuddered upon opening the doors and within seconds of entering the building, all eyes were on them.

It would be a bald-faced lie to say that they didn't feel exposed by standing before a huge crowd of people as the group each had eyes wide whilst baring their own individual frowns. The scent of milk and honey mixed in with a certain scent of alcohol was wafting around the entire inn, making Juniper and Athena's faces turn fern green from the gross cocktail of scents.

A disturbing silence had greeted Phoenix Wright and his accomplices.

Everyone sitting at the tables each stared at Phoenix and the others as if they had the intent to kill, further intimidating our heroes. They couldn't have been anymore intimidated than right now!

They were soon met by a woman who greeted them with a glare equal to those of her customers and a deep frown was twisted at her thin lips and she folded her grotesque arms across her blobbish chest. She looked all too familiar to a certain young man who had instantly pushed himself towards her, greeting her with the filthiest of scorns possible as he greeted her in the most darkest, lowest voice possible and he had even thrust his hands into his pockets while greeting her in this way.

"Hello, Mrs. Blunts..." The man with the two horns of hair standing upon his headfull of brown hair snarled "...Do you remember me?"

Mrs. Blunts seemed to be in deep thought for a few moments. She had seen that boy somewhere before but where? She seemed to have been thinking hard about it and when it finally hit her, she growled at Apollo with a sadistic grin on her face.

"Hello again you stupid little freak..." She cackled nastily "I thought that you being so pathetic, you would've been stuck at the orphanage where you belong. Unwanted and a lowly omega who deserves no respect in any shape or form."

Apollo stood his ground but his glare hardened. He HATED this woman since she has caused him nothing but grief in his childhood. She wasn't pleasant to everyone in the orphanage, especially not to him nor Clay. He felt waves of hatred soak his good nature as he recalled the day he had first became who he was years and years ago. He could never forgive her!

He heard Athena's voice gasp from behind yet Apollo's perceiving eyes were completely glued to her chubby face.

"Huuh! Y-You mean to say that...!"

Apollo nodded, his anger-filled expression offensive yet his stance defensive as he stood protectively in front of Phoenix, Juniper, Trucy, Athena, the twins and Alakazam. Mrs. Blunts was a nightmare to be around, a woman who he despised with every fiber of his being and the one who made his heart become swallowed into a dark abyss as every memory involving her was like a dog biting you in the behind for a second time and its teeth sinking in deeper than the previous wound.

He knew exactly who this was and he had a unfaltering feeling that striking a bargain with this troublesome woman would be harder than originally thought.

"Yes, Athena," he confirmed grimly "Mrs. Blunts was that black cloud in my childhood, the _director _and _matriarch _of the orphanage I grew up in."

* * *

**A/N: OH NO, MRS. BLUNTS MAKES A COME BACK! We also see the Wonder Bar officially. It seems that Trucy had to come a long way when she got old enough, this being her work place afterall. Can Phoenix and the team strike a deal with Mrs. Blunts to avoid capture, will Apollo be able to get passed his grudge just this once so Phoenix could negotiate?**

**Mrs. Blunts appears in the 2nd chapter of "****Origins of Justice", my own version of Apollo's origin. She may appear soon in that story again too. **

******I hope to see some more reviews because I'm beginning to think that you guys (other than DragonNiro) don't really like this story much. If there is anything I could do to improve this story then let me know because I would like to have more individuals see what they think of this if that's alright. **

******Any ideas and suggestions are welcome for the next or any future chapters and reviews would be more than welcome.**

******Thanks, guys!**

******-Chloemcg**


	10. Symphony of the Ace attorney

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo had been glaring at Mrs. Blunts with a fiery vengeance, wanting so badly to punch that woman in the face despite his much calmer usual demeanour.

His blood boiled in rage. He hated her so much that he was pretty sure that the only thing stopping him from lashing out there and then was that little shred of his better nature telling him not to attack her at the risk of being thrown out. He silently seethed deeply where he stood with his twin horns of hair lowering slightly since his anger was becoming too much to bear.

Apollo made sure he was grabbing Juniper's clammy hand and pulled her close from behind to enable her to snuggle up to him for protection if needed and he felt his wife's sweaty form bury her face into the black material that had been stitched on to the back of his red vest and he rolled up the loose cuffs of his sleeves to show off his bracelet that sparkled in the ember light hanging above them all.

Mrs. Blunts smirked evilly upon seeing a pregnant Juniper and folded her arms across his chest "Ah, so now we have yet another little freak to join us in this world of eat or be eaten."

Apollo actually felt at least half of that remaining shred of his better nature vanish and he could feel that if one more remarks like that were said, especially targeted towards his wife and unborn child, then he would go all out on them without a single moments hesitation.

He could even notice that now Athena was wanting to go and beat up the pompous woman herself yet Phoenix was gripping on tightly to her shoulder to prevent her from doing this.

Apollo gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes into slits, seething in fury. Nobody was going to taunt him and shame his wife and child while he was around! Not if he had anything to say about it!

He angrily pushed his nose against hers and both of their eyes met in the most powerful of glares one could muster, each of the two apparent enemies growling through their teeth as they focused each of their scowls on each other's face. Apollo felt his heart racing in anticipation as he told her in the lowest, deepest, most angry tone of voice one could ever use as his bushy brows thinned just over his eyes and it even made the young man's pulse jerk around from the mere displeasure of having the woman who plagued his childhood from the time he first arrived to when he and Clay had left to pursuit their dreams.

"DON'T CALL THEM A FREAK!" Apollo shouted as loud as his lungs would allow. He clenched his fists and felt his shoulders raise and fall in time with the irked breathing pattern. He was clearly very defensive of both Juniper and his unborn child like all fathers-to-be would be but he was being a bit too over protective. Luckily, before anything else could be said to rile poor Apollo up even more, Trucy decided to step in and intervene with a stern look on her face as she got in between the two feuding adults.

"Alright thats enough, Polly!" She told them calmly.

She turned to face Mrs. Blunt with a serious look in her eye "Mrs. Blunt, we _need _you're help." She ran a hand through her dark locks of hair "You gotta hide us so we can allude the agents of organisation Z.E.R.O!"

Mrs. Blunts smirked stubbornly, her eyes narrowing and taunting Phoenix and everyone else "Hmph.." she scoffed "...Whats in it for me?"

Everyone was silent.

What could they do? How would they appease such an unpleasant woman such as her? Hmmm... this was a toughie to answer. Trucy seemed to have had an idea in mind, already, as she asked with eyes filled with unwavering determination "How about a performance, Mrs. Blunts?"

Her offer held a lot of strength for what meant to be a simple suggestion, surprising everyone except Phoenix. The ace attorney would have grinned out of pure pride if not for the huge amount of tension squishing them as if the ceiling and walls were coming down on them and squashing them so they could hardly breathe. Phoenix's eyes were filled with the contagious worry that filled his mind and he could have sworn that he actually saw the owner of the Wonder bar freeze over upon thinking this proposal.

Eventually, however, she grinned sharply and placed her hands on her hips "Alright, I shall allow a performance and if you please my customers and me-" she stood aside to gesture towards her glaring customers who all sat at their own round tables "I'll let you stay here and not mention you being here."

Trucy flashed her employer a grateful smile while nodding but as she walked to appear on the stage, she was quickly grabbed by the wrist and tossed back into Phoenix and everyone else thus bowling them to the floor below.

Apparently Mrs. Blunts hadn't finished speaking about her terms.

"Hold on, Mrs. Wright, I haven't finished yet."

The budding magician climbed back to her feet, her face holding huge amounts of confusion. What else did the woman have to say? She scooped her son up who had been knocked from Phoenix's grasp and was still in a state of unconscious and cradled Kazam in her arms. Everyone else got to their feet but Star and Luna decided to ask the obvious question as they approached her with stern faces.

Clearly Star was the one most intent on asking this despite Luna being the more talkative out of the two "But why?" She asked in her adorably high-pitched voice, her amethyst eyes big and pleading "Miss Trucy is the only one out of us capable of doing such amazing things relating showbiz!" The two girls looked up at the grotesque woman who used to be an orphanage director and backed away slightly as she got down on one knee to meet them on direct eye level and with this, usually this would be the action when someone would demonstrate how amazing they are with children by talking softly to them but the intention for this standing on one knee was far from having that effect.

Mrs. Blunts snagged Star by the hair, catching Luna by surprise as she heard her little sister yell out in pain. What was Mrs. Blunts doing to poor Star!? She told the two girls in a sickeningly sweet voice that sounded probably way harsher than originally intended "My bar, my rules!"

It was then that Athena's motherly instinct set in as she basically charged like an angry bull but first acted by pulling her adopted daughters away from the woman, earning another squeak of pain from Star, and she yelled with her eyes red and Widget (her dispensable little digital partner) turned the richest shade of scarlet one could imagine and a seriously fumed cartoonish expression replaced the normally placid one.

"You leave my girls alone, you big jerk," Athena shouted threateningly "Or else I'll force my fist down you're throat!"

Luckily, being the other peace keeper of the team, Phoenix decided to prevent things from becoming messy this time and put a firm hand on Athena's shoulder and this seemed to have silenced her rampaging instincts. The ace attorney chided gently "Now, now Athena. Lemme handle this." He told her and Athena reluctantly went to go and comfort Luna and Star from what that woman had just done.

The middle-aged ace attorney watched in silence as the despicably abusive woman stood back up with her eyes narrowed and the two met face to face. Phoenix's eyes were filled with stern energy as he was willing to do anything to keep his family safe, he asked with a low-throated voice "...Mrs. Blunts, if my daughter's showbiz occupation can't appease you despite her working here for years then tell me this; what _will _interest you?"

The former director of the Rock hard orphanage seemed stupefied with this man. The way he was standing up to her like this triggered a memory she thought had been long since forgotten. A similar man who was a defense attorney had stood his ground in a much similar way to defend the boy who clearly hated her strongly in a way she returned those feelings.

She changed the subject briefly with an awkward pause "Do I know you?"

Phoenix seemed momentarily baffled by this question. He didn't recall ever meeting her before but that could be related to him having a fire extinguisher slammed down on his head and gave him a case of amnesia. But he didn't know about that, it was just a reasonable explanation to how he couldn't recall ever meeting her.

His stance didn't fall, though. He simply thickened his wiry brows at her "No, I don't remember seeing you in my life."

She was silent for a few moments more before she grinned. She had made her decision now! She grabbed at Phoenix by the sleeve. who in turn grabbed Juniper by mistake out of shock and the two had begun to be dragged towards the stage. Clearly both of the members of the ace attorney team were startled as they were hauled towards an open stage with a heavy spotlight shining harshly over them, swallowing them up into an intense light that reminded them that they would have to perform before crowd that would undoubtedly be difficult to impress with a less than perfect performance.

Apollo and the others had been led towards a table and they watched as they each became seated with eyes glued to the stage. While they were not glaring at Phoenix nor Juniper, the others still had a fair amount of concern on their lips.

While Junie stood there in the middle of the stage in a daze with her face pale and hands sweaty, Phoenix made a mad scramble towards a small piano that rested and stood in a far corner of the stage, unused, and Phoenix had sat himself down in the small stool before he proceeded to try and think of some idea to play at the keys. He hated playing the piano and hardly knew any songs to play himself so he would apparently have to improvise a melody. He took a deep breath in, raised his hands up before slamming his fingers down on the waiting black and white keys and some music actually started playing.

The melody the wooden instrument projected actually sounded quite pretty. At first the music did sound a bit off-key and out of place while Juniper began to meekly hum along to the music quietly. This wasn't winning any sort of respect with the crowd as they remained silent, tension hanging over the air like a wet blanket, with those stone-cold glares on their faces.

Apollo and the others gulped nervously. This wasn't enough!

There was no way Mr. Wright would be able to pull it off on his own with Juniper looking and sounding so frightened!

They needed to help. They jumped out of their chairs to help immediately and it was surprising that Mrs. Blunt didn't do anything as they rushed to separate places to help out and try and win the owner over with a grand musical performance. Apollo, Trucy and Luna rushed towards the stage to grab hold of some musical instruments of their own whilst Athena, Star and Kazam rushed over to help Phoenix. Actually, as a matter of fact, Trucy had somehow acquired a conductor's baton and she examined it for a few moments whilst Apollo and Luna had set out a few instruments to play on the stage.

Seeing the spare instruments lying about on the stage, Alakazam and Star retraced their steps and rushed to pick up the instruments whilst Apollo and Juniper done the same. The image was sort of complete now!

Apollo held on to a trumpet, looking acutely uncomfortable holding it. Juniper was holding a violin with the bow in one hand and the small wooden instrument in the other. Luna held another violin while Star held a clarinet to her lips but she looked quite calm considering all of this and readily held the bow against it. Alakazam was holding a small triangle with a small stick to make it jingle at the key moments.

Phoenix was confused but, with Athena's assistance, began to play the keys. Even though Athena and Phoenix's melodies occurred on separate sides of the piano, the beautiful music played by each actually worked together perfectly as they both mixed in harmony. A minute after making their song play a grand-sounding symphony, Trucy kicked herself into action and began to weave her baton through the air, waving it softly and lowly towards Juniper to signal her to begin playing softly to which she did.

That meek sound soon exploded into a rather loud cacophony as Apollo joined in, playing the trumpet impossibly well in-spite of never playing it before.

Meanwhile the crowd was actually beginning to like this. Their faces were actually brightening up at the sounds this small orchestra made and their frowns slowly turned into small smiles.

Minutes passed and the orchestra actually began to impress alot of the crowd. They all sat there, daunted by what they were both witnessing and hearing as they allowed the graceful music to flow through the air around them. It did little to unfaze them as they sat there completely dumbfounded, unable to allow all this to sink in. These people who have been made criminals earlier that day were here before them, displaying an awesome talent for music.

The symphony ended all too soon.

Like a harmonious melody of twinkling stars, Apollo blew mightily on the trumpet while he and Juniper's violin session worked together with Athena and Mr. Wright's semi-skillful piano playing. They slowed their finale to a scale yet it was still magnificent all the same, they played and played until everything came to a hammering halt like something heavy had dropped. As soon as they brought their orchestra to a total finish and when they did something most unbelievable happened:

The crowd broke into applause.

Phoenix and company stared with mouths wide open with disbelief but they all grinned happily. They done it! They managed to get a crowd cheering!

They all bowed curtly, happy that they would probably be safe for now. Though they had one last trial to face now as their frowns returned at the sound of some loud, slow claps coming from Mrs. Blunts who was indeed clapping her hands rather slowly.

Phoenix and everyone else went to the stage and watched her with eyes full of anticipation. They couldn't suppress the anxiety they felt towards the woman but they relaxed when she smiled an actual congratulatory smile towards them and she nodded her head in approval.

"Alright," she said finally "You may stay for tonight only."

And with that she left everyone alone but after a second of letting the news sink in, Phoenix and everyone else began to cheer aloud as they each shown signs of how happy they were to have accomplished this feat. Trucy jumped up and down with a cheerful yet sleepy Alakazam in her arms, Apollo twirled Juniper on her feet with smiles on their faces, Phoenix grinned happily while observing the scene and Athena leapt up into the air with Luna and Star following her.

They were now in the safe zone...for now, at least.

* * *

**A/N: It seems that Phoenix and everyone else had managed to win the Wonder bar over with a small, unplanned orchestra. I think they would have played the theme of Ace attorney (orchestra version) if any song should be chosen. It also seemed that Athena really hasn't changed a lot in personality. Apollo also seems very angry towards Mrs. Blunts and can anyone blame him? **

**Mrs. Blunts is also an OC of mine who doesn't belong to Capcom. **

**This is a small message to White Weasel: Your not terrible, I would never think badly of anyone. I am sorry if I made you feel bad. :( I hope you will look at this more, though, if you would like to. You don't have to. **

**Anyways, thanks and please review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	11. A nice chat

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix laid in bed, barely able to comprehend much as he had fallen deeply asleep hours ago but he was also barely conscious of everything around him as his entire world was nothing but a black abyss.

He could hardly believe it. They were now on the run, wanted by a wickedly nasty organisation whom had wormed they way to the top of the food chain in the lawless underworld of criminals. Nobody was safe now, they could do nothing to prevent the inevitable outcome of being hounded like mice.

However, despite those grim odds, he had to stay strong for his team. He couldn't run like a yellow-bellied chicken!

He had volunteered to stay with the children and keep them safe if anything should harm them and he was doing a fine job of it as he stayed right next to Luna, Star and had insisted that he slept beside Alakazam to protect him most of all since he knew without a doubt that his daughter would most likely strangle him without mercy if any harm should come to the poor toddler.

Phoenix wanted to be the one to defend them since he felt that he was the most qualified to do so. He was stronger and he was pretty much the only man in the group who wasn't preoccupied with being nervous about being a father.

However he had become vaguely aware of a certain amount of shuffles and shifts of movement that came from beside him. It was as if something was moving from under his protective hold yet he had become vaguely aware of it.

It didn't take long until those shuffles ceased and a small "plop" was heard. Phoenix didn't know what it was but he soon heard some slight, gentle creaks on the floorboards of the bedroom. He also felt the warmth beside him cease to exist and this alone had forced him to lazily drag open his ageing ace attorney eyes. He was surprised to discover that Kazam was no longer in the room.

A shred of panic struck his heart like lightning as he bolted up to sit upright and he scanned the entire room for any sign of Kazam anywhere but was a bit disappointed when he found nothing or no one of the sort. However his attention was drawn to the bedroom door that was open slightly...perhaps it was Kazam whom opened it.

He slowly got up and deftly maneuverered around the room to avoid waking up the twins whom both slept in sleeping bags beside the deluxe double bed that was clearly a polished jewel in this room since it was in the best shape out of most of the room. The ace attorney was really careful to shift his body weight on the floor so he could cause as little noise as possible but he was soon out in the darkened hallways of the Wonder bar.

Phoenix sighed as he began to walk down the stars but as he did this, his ears began to latch on to some soft sobbing which sounded somewhat high pitched and very distinguishable.

He didn't need to wonder long on who this was.

Like he had planned, he reached the bottom of the stairs and got a good look into the room down below.

It was entirely empty as there was nobody else around, presumably they were shoved back up into the rooms to prevent any crashes of drunk men this night, the room was basically pitch black so he could hardly see anything but the silhouettes of the empty tables that still had drinks laid upon the surfaces of each hunk of mahogany and other wood material. But Phoenix was dimly able to make out the form of a familiar little boy curled up beneath one of the tables.

It was clearly Kazam, as he suspected.

Thinking of basically nothing else to do, Phoenix softly approached the table where those sobs came from and he knelt down before the table where the sobbing and whimpers originated from and he called out as softly as possible "...Kazam," his usually authoritative voice was laced with this whispered compassion "What are you doing up this late?"

The stench of alcohol hung in the air like a sharp knife in the chest. It burned at both of the Wright member's nostrils and left a slight burn in their noses, however they somehow ignored it.

Kazam seemed surprised as he instantly turned around to face his grandfather yet big, chunky tears were streaming down his small face as he cried. He didn't make any attempts to speak, however, as he just squeaked hopelessly and faced away from Phoenix soon afterwards. He clearly just wanted to be left alone to wallow in his sorrows but Phoenix wasn't about to let his beloved adopted grandson cry so hard like this.

'I may not be an expert on emotions like Athena but I might as well try...' Phoenix thought to himself as he tried to gently coax the little one out from beneath the shade of the table.

He smiled gently as he did this "Do you want to talk about it, you can ol' grandpa about anything." He looked to his left and to his right to check if anyone would be there watching but he knew that nobody was really around to hear them "It'll be our little secret, I give you my word."

Alakazam seemed to have been in deep thought. He didn't want to suffer alone, it felt sad and even more depressing. Not wanting to be lonesome anymore so he decided to crawl out from under the table and climb on to his grandfather's lap with a saddened expression on his sweet little face.

Phoenix wrapped his arms protectively around his young grandson, allowing him to snuggle up inside his arms to get warm so he could spill his worries. Yet neither of them said a word as they sat in complete darkness, all the warmth in the room slowly being sucked out as total silence remained.

Needless to say, neither of them felt comfortable in this darkness. It reminded the both of them of the bumpy, dark road ahead that had no light whatsoever. Even if things seemed bad, neither Phoenix nor Kazam could allow themselves to stop being diligent.

Kazam shuddered in his grandfather's arms, feeling the cold settle in.

Finally he forced himself to speak as he reluctantly admitted "...I'm afraid. What if organisation Z.E.R.O get us? What if they do some mean things to us?"

Phoenix didn't exactly know how to answer that. That boy had been put down a few times now when he asked about if they would be alright and about that dreadful organisation so he couldn't blame Kazam for being scared of this. He looked down at the boy and opened his mouth to respond but no words came out.

He could feel his heart sink a little in sympathy as he finally forced the words from his throat, his eyes softening sadly "Don't worry, Kazam, we'll make sure that doesn't happen."

Phoenix felt his hold on the young boy tighten a bit as the thought of them being captured flashed through his mind and sent terrible shivers down his spinal cord. He couldn't deny that his entire body had suffered a tremor as that terrible thought shook his head out of focus and plunged fear right into his heart. It was one of the many times during this trip he felt afraid at all.

However he blinked his eyes and shook his head defiantly. He couldn't think like that, he WOULD protect Trucy and his family without fail and they would survive this without question.

There was no doubt about that...was there?

He looked down at the child and listened intently as he asked softly "B-But what if they capture you and the other grown ups but leave us alone?"

Phoenix once again found all his words stuck in his throat. That was actually a good question to ask since he hadn't thought of that. If the adults were caught and the kids were forced to stay behind in any circumstance it would be sort of cruel but it would be the last desperate act on their part.

These innocent children were the last of their bloodline and Phoenix and the others would only leave them if it was totally necessary to protect them from organisation Z.E.R.O!

He reeled Kazam into a tight embrace and snuggled lovingly against him as he had finally found his answer "...Then we'd be happy that you're safe."

Adoptive grandfather and grandson just said nothing more regarding the matter as they both wanted to change the subject. Kazam looked back up at Phoenix with big, glassy eyes that welled up with sparkly tears "So you won't tell anyone that I'm scared?"

Phoenix actually smiled. It was just like Alakazam to try and be the tough guy out of everyone as he was such a sweetie. He wouldn't be happy to hear Athena tease him about being afraid of something like this even though Athena would completely understand his fears without a single thought, that much was true.

The spiky-haired defense attorney felt a warm sensation cause his heart to expand like his lungs after a long time of holding his breath. This was just the talk he needed to get out of this ridiculous fear of that accursed cult that had been chasing them and he slowly climbed to his feet to stretch his ageing legs. He grinned compassionately as he teasingly played with the brown tufts of hair covering Kazam's head.

"Of course I won't tell anyone," He winked "you can count on that."

The both of them smiled at each other. They felt their fears extinguish into nothingness like a dying flame evaporating into thin air for the first time since this adventure.

However that flame returned when they heard an abrupt knock on the door. They both bolted up and stared wide eyed at the door with fear frozen on both of their faces and a rude, loud voice boomed from the other side of the door even though it sounded muffled by the door shut behind them.

"Open the door immediately, open the door as this is organisation Z.E.R.O!"

Phoenix felt his heart stop dead. The bad guys were now on the other side of the door! He needed to run, needed to get Kazam to safety and mostly needed to inform the others of this life or death situation! However the ace attorney wore a stone face that held no emotions and his innocent dusk blue eyes were hardened like the most impenetrable of stone walls. He couldn't freak out, not now.

Slowly he backed away up the stairs. There was not much else he could do. He needed to tell Apollo, Athena, Trucy, the twins and Juniper immediately or else their journey would end before it begun.

He quickened his pace and bolted up the stairs and he could only hear his heart, which had started up again, thump heavily inside his chest and he could hear the heavy weight of his feet drum against each step the staircase provided and he could feel his face getting all red and clammy.

Phoenix knew one thing as he ran up the stairs with Kazam tucked against his chest:

They needed to run and survive!

* * *

**A/N: This is the edited version of chapter 11. I hope you guys liked it since I worked all morning on this, please review. **

**I had to redo it because I was editing the chapters and accidentally deleted both chapter 11 and chapter 19 and I didn't have it saved which I do now. Sorry about that. **

**Thanks!**

**-Chloemcg**


	12. The crumbling of fate

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix ran as fast as his legs could carry him, breathing heavily.

His lungs felt like huge balloons from how much air he was taking in and how little he was exhaling.

His feet drummed against each step up the staircase yet his hands were holding Alakazam as he had been trying to maintain his balance through the rumbling building as it had actually began to crack and split right under his feet. His heart was pounding inside his chest and he was sweating bullets bigger than actual gun bullets. He mumbled something through gritted teeth as the movements of his feet were not very precise and wobbled all over the place as he tried to thunder up the stairs to get to the others quickly.

Taka was flying alongside Phoenix with alot of speed and velocity put into each glide in between flapping his strong wings like downward slaps in midair.

The ace attorney breathed deeply as he raced up the splitting staircase but he eventually reached the top back up to the corridor he had previously went down from and ran through the finely-decorated hallway with his eyes scanning each and every door for the room he sought out. He could hear the muffled shouts of panic from panicked costumers that were seen earlier yell from behind each door Phoenix had passed.

He needed to find the right door that concealed Trucy and the others -quick draw!

Eventually, his eyes landed on the correct door and he heard the especially panicked squeals and shouts come from his compadres and he threw the door open but what he found inside was far more shocking than he had previously imagined.

Apollo, Luna and Star were on one side of the cracking room while Junie, Athena and Trucy were on the other, laying there worriedly as they stared at their friends with huge eyes beaming with worry and fear of what was happening to the dividing room. The floor was splitting apart slowly and between the two halves of the room that slowly distanced itself whilst rumbling and shaking ruthlessly there was a deep, black abyss that seemed endless if you'd be brave enough to look down it.

Apollo tried to reach for them and Athena done the same but they were just barely out of reach for each other.

Phoenix stared at this scene in horror. How could this be happening?! He decided to leap into action literally as he jumped towards Athena's and the girls side and hurriedly tossed them across one at a time even though he was a especially careful with Juniper and had given Alakazam to his mother before throwing her across the huge cracking gap dividing the group. He stared at the smaller group as they began to drift further away from his view. He kept his balance on the toppling piece of the diverging half of the cabin-like bedroom even though it was shaking under his stance.

The group all had looks of fear burned on to their faces as they looked at Phoenix with gaping, open-mouthed frowns. Phoenix swallowed his fear and decided to try and do a really reckless move on his part: jump across to the other side.

He took a few steps back before pausing and closing his eyes. He breathed in and out deeply to try and get into the right mindset. His entire world surrounding him had become pitch black as he concentrated deeply on his next move although, he could feel a certain presence flow inside him and he knew that presence all too well...it wasn't a presence he had felt for a long while, though. Was he out of his mind? Why was he doing this in the first place? He knew that he needed to do this anyway, no matter what the cost. He finally snapped open his deep blue eyes and a face of full determination had emblazoned upon it, a serious frown on his lips.

He nodded towards no one in particular as he got a running start and as he did, he heard a certain someone's voice cry out "_...Phoenix! Stop!" _However, as he tried to stop himself to get a grasp of who he had just heard, it was all ready too late as he had already jumped and was soaring through midair.

That was Mia Fey's, his mentor's, voice; there was no mistaking it!

"M-Mia!?" Phoenix exclaimed in a gasp, looking around for her but he had already leaped into the air. It all seemed like in slow motion as he soared through the open air, over that huge bottomless gap. He was terrified for the very first time in years and he could hear his own heart racing in his ears, his own heartbeat making a dramatic echo of that same pulse inside his mind as he slowly approached the other side of the splitting floor beneath while he made his slow decent to the other side of the room.

The beanie-wearing ace attorney knew that he must have been crazy. His eyes were filled with horror as his feet began to slip through the black massive crack in the floor below and he grabbed on to the edge, his fingers making a desperate grab to the edge of the huge hole down below. He yelled out in horror as he gazed up at Apollo and Athena with huge, innocent eyes filled with the shadows of all he had been through and his traumatic events of the past.

He looked up in fear as he felt Athena and Apollo grab tightly on to his hand, their faces contorted in effort as they tried to pull their boss up from his probable hanging from a deep, black edge of the splitting gap in the floor.

"M-Mr. Wright!" Apollo growled through gritted teeth, his brows scrunched against his deep brown eyes in effort. He was clearly leaning over the edge of the ever growing, splitting edge with his hand gripping tightly to the ace attorney's own.

"H-Hold on, boss!" Athena struggled yet she too tightly clasped on to her bosses' hand "We'll pull y-you up!"

Phoenix swallowed hard while he continued to stare up at his two grown-up students. He felt useless as he dangled in suspension, his hand being grabbed tightly by both Apollo and Athena being the only thing keeping him from falling. His heart was beating rapidly as he felt his eyes glue to Apollo and Athena's own faces.

The two lawyers were clearly trying their hardest to pull him up to safety and it didn't take long until Trucy had joined them by pulling Apollo by the back of his black material stitched to half of the latter's red vest in hopes to pull him, Athena and her adopted father to safety but she felt her sweaty palms slip a little from her tight grip on to the black half of the vest. The magician squeezed her eyes closed from the effort as she tried her hardest to yank them back as tight as her strength would allow.

Things managed to take a more positive turn when Luna, Star, Juniper and even Kazam joined into the mission to rescue Phoenix from falling into the huge cracked half of the room that had now been reduced to a huge black hole of endless proportions; a black abyss which seemed to go down for eternity.

Phoenix by now felt like his arms were going to burst out of their sockets from how stretched he felt from the pulling of his left arm being gripped on to so tightly. He scrunched his face in pain from the soreness of his floppy arm, his teeth gritting and his eyes squeezing shut.

However the pain began to ease off as Phoenix began to be slowly raised up to safety. He was slowly but surely pulled up to the safer side of the cracking room and he basically collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap on the floor when he had finally been pulled up and brought into the light, his entire form shadowed from the slight lack of a comforting amber warmth of light.

Apollo gently propped his boss up into his arms to get a view of his now passed out form, turning him over from his stomach to his back so the entire group could see the man's face. Everyone knew about Phoenix's paralysing fear of heights and knew that it was probably the reason for his current state of motionless, forced slumber. His face was also a pale fern green to indicate just how petrified he probably was but had to ask...why did he hesitate at the last second? He was clearly surprised about something but couldn't explain what it was exactly.

The younger man picked the frail man up into his arms and managed to toss his weaker form over his shoulder, despite Mr. Wright being taller and more stronger-looking than Apollo, but he simply gave an eye gesture towards a nearby window that had probably lost its glass during the entire building splitting into two separate parts and separating. Athena looked worriedly at Apollo, her blue eyes big and fearful.

"What do we do now, Apollo?!" She asked.

Apollo narrowed his eyes determinedly towards the window and raced towards it, leaning out to get a view of what was down below and he was horrified speechless to discover two agents holding shooting rifles up towards them and actually shooting towards Apollo even though the young man had managed to get his head out of the line of fire in the exact right moment.

His back was now against the wall.

There was now no way out. Organisation Z.E.R.O had clearly found them and had used some strange machinery to somehow shake the building apart in a literal sense. Apollo had his back against the wall, eyes wide. What could he do with an unconscious Ace attorney, three children, a lawyer/psychologist and a pregnant woman who happened to be his wife to help them with escaping?

Apollo grabbed Juniper's hand, Phoenix still slumped over his shoulder, and the group proceeded to run as fast as they could through the half standing Wonder bar without any intention of stopping to catch their breaths but there was a certain hawk leading the way out as they desperately searched for a way out before the entire other side of the building collapsed like the other side probably had by now.

They ran desperately down the halls through sweaty brows and faces filled with desperation.

How could they get out of there when the only way was down?!

The ace attorney group didn't cease running with all they were worth. Their breathing were heavy and Juniper was coughing due to the stress of their situation, clearly they were very frightened and had no idea what to do next as they could only follow Taka towards a huge hole where a window was supposedly at before tonight's events.

The entire hallway connected to this huge hole in the wall was huge and it made Apollo shiver inwardly as he stared out the hole and found a huge amount of grassy pastures and forests down below, little save for a comfortable landing to the ground below. Apollo looked back towards Juniper who clearly couldn't be able to make that jump without harming the unborn infant she carried within her balloon-like belly.

However he did decide to try and lower her first.

Apollo put Phoenix down on the ground before approaching Junie, a look of pure worry on his face. He didn't want to put Juniper through this right now as she was coughing her lungs out right now from all the nervousness and stress striking through her body like exploding lightning, thundering through the darkened skies in a streaking blinding light.

He held her comfortingly. Apollo wrapped his arms around her and rubbed the back of her neck to soothe her conflicting emotions before he began the slow, steady yet hurried process of picking Juniper up into his arms bridal-style and he was careful to begin the second process of lowering her to the ground despite how high they were. He could feel Juniper's breathing go shallow and gaspy as she was clearly very worried about this.

"Its alright, Juniper, I won't drop you!" Apollo reassured as he too looked down to see anything -anything at all- that could cushion her fall and ensure his child-to-be's complete safety. He actually did find a treetop that was abundant with cushy leaves that looked quite comfortable and might do good to break the fall even though he was reluctant to release her.

However he did have a little voice in his head tell him that she would be alright if she landed that short distance from that high up.

He reluctantly released Juniper from his hold and watched carefully as she fell and landed softly on the comfortable, unrealistically sturdy leaves that somehow managed to hold the extra weight. She smiled up at her husband to assure him and silently gave him a thumbs up, telling him wordlessly that he could drop the others down too and that Apollo did into the pitch blackness of the dark earth below.

Apollo was happy that Juniper had landed safely down there but just hoped that they could make it out before they were either spotted or the building collapsed in on them. He looked back towards Athena, Trucy and the others with a small smile as he stepped aside whilst giving them each a sly smirk. This would be perfect revenge for earlier this morning and he couldn't imagine a better set up than this.

Athena stepped forwards and peered outside worriedly, eyes filled with fright as she put a thoughtful finger to her lips.

"Mmmmh, are you sure its safe?" She turned to face Apollo with a lowered brow of uncertainty but the man with the two horns of hair smirked and furrowed his own brow while raising the other mischievously and folded his arms across his chest.

"Of course..." He grinned a devilish grin "Unless you're scared."

Athena's eyes widened for a moment. She couldn't allow herself to be transparent again! She scoffed whilst lifting her chin in denial yet her stuttering and widget betrayed her emotions "I-I'm not scared!"

Apollo gestured out towards the window with one hand. He could clearly hear his accomplice's voice crack like a delicate eggshell and he decided to use that as his advantage. While he may not have had Athena's special sense of hearing, he could definitely tell that she was really scared at the idea of jumping out of the hole in the wall and risking her life.

He closed his eyes in a way, deciding to use the guilt trip technique in order to get Athena to bend.

He faked a frown and turned his back on his partner "Aw, well if you don't jump you might just ruin that perfect image of you're daughters..."

Athena turned to face Luna and Star whom both shared a look of innocent adoration as they smiled up sweetly to support Apollo's argument. Clearly they were unknowingly playing along with this and Apollo _knew _that the red-haired, yellow-wearing woman could not resist the sweet obedience of her two adopted daughters.

Athena caved in and now wore a scowl on her face.

"You can be so evil." Athena glared at Apollo's cocky grin, walking towards the hole.

Apollo smirked in a smug way that his plan had worked "I know, but we need to go. Now."

Reluctantly, Athena jumped out of the hole but she clearly didn't have to scream for long since she landed alongside her best friend within seconds. She hugged Junie happily in reassurance whilst Apollo had decided to help Luna, Trucy, drop Phoenix out and carry Star and Kazam down to safety last of all so they would have someone to cling on to. They all sat on top of the tree with worried faces as they waited for Apollo, Star and Alakazam to join them. Taka even flew out and circled the skies around them like a vulture circling its prey in the humid desert.

In one of the red clad attorney's arms Star rested and in the other lain Kazam. Apollo glared down at the tree that was a little ways down below and made sure to fasten both the youngest of the children in his arms as he gave a daring leap down towards the sturdy tree down below, falling for a second before landing right among the others who all just sat there with confused expressions on their faces and they each watched as the other half of what used to be the Wonder bar just collapse into a wooden wreckage that gave way just like the other side of the building had done mere moments ago.

The group stared sadly at the debris that had been scattered to the forest ground below with a group a seemingly important agents, no doubt from organisation Z.E.R.O! There was no doubt that nobody got out in time, they were all probably still drunk from earlier so couldn't escape. Apollo sighed heavily, his eyes glued to the silhouette of the pile of snapped wood and the shadows of those despicable agents.

There was no doubt that they had used some special kind of grenades or something that would have made the building split apart, them being special elite spies and all...

The dark night had made things very hard to see but the forms of Athena and everyone else being so close had made it so they were easily identifiable in this dark evening since they were close to each other and had been able to spot each other with fair ease. They had some fairly good eyesight after all.

However, in her usual polite manner Juniper decided to bring up a good question as she looked down worriedly "Um, I don't mean to change the subject but..." she gestured down towards the ground way below "How do we get down...?"

* * *

**A/N: It would seem that they have been found and smoked out. Or in this case they had been shaken out. **

**Poor Phoenix seemed to have heard Mia and we may see her again here. I noticed that Mia wasn't mentioned throughout the entire course of Dual destinies and I don't think she wasn't mentioned in Apollo Justice Ace attorney game. That was rather sad so I thought that he should at least hear her a few times. But why did she try and stop Phoenix from jumping? Was she afraid of him dying? What was the reason for her speaking in his mind? **

**Find out soon, guys. BTW, thanks for the reviews but the question still stands from the previous chapter. I think your all awesome, however. **

**-Chloemcg**


	13. Blackquill's rendezvous

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The trip back to the car park was filled with suspense as the group stuck to the shadows to make themselves invisible in the cold, dreary night. Apollo had made it his responsibility to take the reigns and to get the others back towards their cars.

It took them awhile to think of how to get out of the tree that had to land on to get out of the splitting Wonder bar but when they had finally manged to scale down the trunk, they dashed into the darkness of the nights but they kept their eyes glued to the agents of Z.E.R.O and watched in horror as a few dead bodies were pulled from beneath the huge amount of wreckage. One by one the corpses of the customers were dragged out from beneath the pile of wrecked planks of wood, motionless and covered in blood.

However they had noticed that Mrs. Blunts wasn't among the many lifeless figures, she must have managed to sneak out before this whole incident occurred. It must have been especially hard for Trucy, though. She had worked there for years and now it had collapsed into useless remnants of the building right before her eyes and she was undoubtedly hurting from the loss as she walked among the group, her face blank as she carried Alakazam in her arms.

Taka had took to the skies as he began to lead the small crowd of Ace attorneys to the car park even though why the hawk had appeared before them was a complete mystery.

Apollo held on tightly to a still unconscious Phoenix Wright as he weaved through the small huddle of people, leading them all out of the forest area. The group crept through the pitch black shadows with eyes filled with focus as they tried to lower themselves to the ground to keep themselves hidden in the tall grass that would hopefully hide themselves from sight.

They laid as low as they could as they deftly hid amongst the tall grass, keeping their stomachs as just low.

It felt like a full eternity until they had finally reached the car park seemingly undetected but they completed the objective nonetheless with pride and triumph making their hearts swell up to the full size of an elephant seal. They were really happy without question that they had moved away from that collapsing building but they were shaken up too from being forced out like that just to try and get out at 2:20 PM in the morning.

The cars silhouettes were more than simple to make out.

Actually, Phoenix was finally beginning to stir as he was still draped over Apollo's shoulder like a towel but Apollo had noticed his bosses' condition and quickly lowered him down on the ground with Trucy propping his head up in her hands as she supported her adoptive father by allowing his shoulders to rest on her lap as she sat down on the ground.

Phoenix finally felt his muscles come to as he opened his eyes tiredly and he let out a long, croaked groan "uuuuuuugggggghhhhh, what in the name of sweet sea biscuits happened?" he reached to put a hand to support his headache "I have a headache like none if you woul-"

Phoenix stopped mid sentence as he looked around, feeling the cold air bristle the spikes of hair that wasn't covered up by his beanie. It was clear that now he was no longer inside but he was now resting on the cold, hard ground of the car park in the embrace of Trucy as she slowly helped him stand on his own two feet. He then recalled what had transpired before he blacked out and he whipped his head left and read to check his crew for injuries.

"Wait! Are you guys okay?" he seemed really worried "none of you were injured?"

Athena nodded with a smile of reassurance "Don't you worry, boss," she flashed him a peace sign and a grin "we all got out safe and sound."

Phoenix felt like a stone had been lifted off his heart. It was such a relief to hear this happy news since he had been worried that everyone may have escaped with some sort of injury. He slowly climbed to his own feet, with Trucy's help, and smiled warmly at his friends whom had returned the smile. It was a happy moment if anyone should be honest but sadly it couldn't last forever as Taka decided to give a harrowing screech to break the awkward silence.

Everyone glared up at the bird but then Phoenix remembered something of great importance: that letter!

"...Oh yeah!" The ace attorney exclaimed while digging around in his pocket. He knew he had stored that letter somewhere but where did he put it? It had to be there somewhere...but where? Phoenix had a bad habit of losing stuff but that didn't stop him to a massive extent as he dug around in his hoodie pockets, his blue trouser pockets and every pocket he could really think of.

He did eventually find the letter in question, however.

Phoenix gripped on to the piece of parchment tightly and began to open it by running a slender thumb along the fold that sealed the letter and it opened on a relatively easy note. After prying open the letter of unknown content, he removed the paper it hidden and took a small read of it as he deciphered weather it was good or bad.

He grinned when he flashed through the letter with simple ease and found out who it was from and what it said.

Phienix grinned "Ah, that's great!" He exclaimed in triumph although he said it in a half whisper, half shout as to not alert the organisation Z.E.R.O agents of their whereabouts since he could remember them being involved in this all too well. He looked up from the letter and smiled at his teammates excitedly.

"Simon's telling us that he wants to meet us somewhere and Taka will guide us there." Phoenix looked up towards the hawk in question who chirped somewhat happily in response of having this job.

However Trucy had a valid point to bring up "Well I would like to know why Taka is living this long since a hawk's life expectancy shouldn't be this long, should it?"

Phoenix smiled knowingly "Well Trucy, apparently a hawk's life expectancy is twenty to thirty years so I think Taka will be fine for now."

Everyone nodded. They were, however, very much wondering on where they were going. They needed Taka to guide them there and Simon would apparently be awaiting their arrival even though it was a somewhat mystery of how on earth the former twisted samurai had known of their troubles so soon but then again...the bounty placed atop of their heads had been fast-spreading news across the world apparently so it shouldn't really come as a total shocker here.

Apollo smirked eagerly while holding Juniper close to him, excitement stretched all over his face "Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" With that Apollo and Junie basically barrelled themselves into their car and began to drive off with speed and velocity and Phoenix, Trucy, Alakazam, Athena and the twins were quick to do the same when they saw Taka basically speed after them at record speed.

However as they drove away into the night, Phoenix had to wonder why he had heard Mia's voice earlier? It sounded so much like her but he hadn't heard from her for ages, especially not from Pearl and she could channel her eldest cousin a lot more frequently than Maya could.

Speaking of the Fey's, he had to wonder how they were getting on. Maya had come to visit from time to time since she had finished her training but lots of stuff came up and she hadn't been able to visit like she had wanted to. However there was someone else who he was sort of anxious to see again...a certain nun who works at the Hazukura temple, someone who looks a lot like a certain she devil that had plagued his past.

As a matter of fact; this person was the twin sister of said she devil.

Phoenix really wanted to see Iris again to see how she was doing.

Hopefully nothing bad should happen when they get to their unknown place of destination...and hopefully no organisation Z.E.R.O grunts would be searching for them wherever this place was.

Again he had to ask himself one thing: why did Mia choose now of all times to speak to him in a strange telepathy kind of way?

...This was hopefully going to be a better day to look forwards to.

* * *

**A/N: I know this was sorter than the other chapters but at least it's an early update. I think you might know where this other place is by now and there may be a slight bit of other couples shipping soon but it's only a little side fluff, nothing serious. **

**Btw, I hope that you all like this chapter and yes Maya and Pearl will be in this too. Why wouldn't I add them to the mix too? This IS a future story, after all, and there can't really be a future story without Maya somewhat involved.**

**Where do YOU think will happen next? **

**-Chloemcg**


	14. Woes of Athena and Apollo

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The drive took about a few hours of driving whilst keeping their heads low and their eyes skywards so they could follow Taka.

Athena drived relentlessly with her eyes constantly glued to the open road ahead even though she had a hard time keeping them open since she was dead tired. She was sure she wasn't the only one who was dog tired from the trying events from earlier that had almost cost them their lives from organisation Z.E.R.O tracking them down at the Wonder bar and trying to lure them out of hiding.

That event was hours ago and the skies were now blue with some thinned clouds that were sort of transparent from the cyan blue heavens above without a sun yet the faint sign of sunlight was still there was the road was alit with a gorgeous warmth beaming from that magnificent orb of brilliance and light.

It marked the dawn of the second day that Phoenix and the gang have been on the run.

The yellow-clad red haired lawyer gave a tired yawn as she momentarily looked away from Taka soaring overhead and her eyes glanced at the crooked rear view mirror and got a peak of both Luna and Star fast asleep whilst bundled up in a light blue blanket that they shared with each of their heads leaning against each other's shoulders yet they both seemed so sweet together in their sleep.

Athena was so happy to have such good little girls living with her, they actually reminded her of herself when she herself was a little girl. She actually felt sad because her mother had still been alive by then and was still smiling and sort of awkward around people. She missed seeing her wear her strange kimonos and she missed painting and drawing pictures of her Cosmos space centre family and showing them to her beloved mother.

Metis Cykes was such a kind person whom had treasured Athena even though the girl herself didn't really know it. She made her wear these headphones that she hated because she thought at the time that they were for her research...she said they were herself, but she didn't know that everything she did was for her own good.

Why did Athena doubt that compassion her mother had for her!?

She couldn't exactly feel them but she knew that by now tears were streaming down her face as she kept her head low. Her breathing became irrational and echoed as she felt those hot tears leave little streams down her face as she recalled that horrific memory of that katana sticking right through her. She sobbed heavily and kept her head low in between her shoulders, regretting everything.

WHY WAS THAT MONSTER, THE PHANTOM, RELEASED!? What idiots would wish for that beast out of prison?

It was then that her wallowing was interrupted by her Bluetooth ringing loud and clear, something that had been enabled thanks to her car being fitted with the latest of technology. She gasped and looked at the small blue screen embedded in between the dials of the radio, wiped a sleeve across her eyes to mop up her streaks of tear stains and tapped the screen to answer whoever was calling.

The voice who came out was surprising "..._Athena you gotta to be strong. It isn't you're fault, it never was." _

Athena knew who that was. It was Apollo!? How was he calling her!? She turned her head to one side to find that the car right by her left side was actually Apollo's and he looked very sad for her despite the bags underneath his eyes. Athena could see Apollo looking across to her with a sympathetic frown on his face as he looked across at her from his car.

Athena sighed heavily to calm her nerves. She still felt horrid for what happened to poor Apollo since they had both lost someone dear to them, Apollo with his best friend and herself with her mother.

She shakily drew in a breath "I-I'm sorry, Apollo, I'm being insensitive aren't I? I didn't mean-"

However she was cut short by Apollo cutting her off, his voice booming from the Bluetooth screen but it was thankfully not loud enough to awake Luna or Star "_Hey, think nothing of it! After all someone once told me that we'll be fine. I believe that and you should too._" His voice changed from stern and scolding to warm and encouraging "_Now lemme see ya smile..._"

Athena sighed. Apollo was right, she needed to cheer up. She needed to behave better if not for her sake but for everyone else's well being, she couldn't do that with a really long face! She sniffled up her worries and exhaled them all in order to dispel them and this appeared to have worked. She felt better after doing this and the red head felt like she was in control again since when she breaks down like that, she becomes broken and she had a feeling that this relapse of breaking down suddenly would never leave her and that nightmare of her mother would forever stick with her.

She forced a small giggle and a smile before saying in a sincere voice of softness "Thanks Apollo, you can be really nice when you wanna be."

The young man was silent for a moment and Athena saw Apollo nod in reply as if to say "your welcome" and then an awkward silence had been brought upon them. Neither of the two friends said a word for quite a while and the only sound between them was the rumbling coming from the wheels of each of their cars as they stretched their speed on the road beneath the layer of their rubble and only when a full minute passed did Athena say something in a soft whisper yet it was loud enough for Apollo to hear.

"So," she began softly "How's Junie doing?"

Apollo chuckled in an equally soft voice (something very rare for him especially with his chords of steel) and clicked his tongue before speaking in a really light sympathetic voice "_Aww, poor girl fell asleep five minutes on the road and she hasn't woke up since. I'm still a little jumpy about our little guy or girl, though, y'know with me never having a dad to teach me the art of fatherhood and all..." _

It was Apollo's turn to sound sad now.

Athena could hardly blame the horny-haired man for being afraid of the concept of fatherhood since his father apparently died when he was still a baby himself.

Having nobody to talk to and relate to must have been tricky especially with a little one on the way and she couldn't see Apollo in such a downed state either so she just smiled softly and told him with complete confidence in her voice "Apollo, like you always say, you're gonna be fine. I have complete confidence that you'll be a great dad to that kid when they arrive! You'll be just fine!"

Apollo stayed quiet for a moment before he too sounded thankful as he thanked her "_...Thanks for that, Athena, I needed that." _

Athena quirked a cheeky brow at the blue glowing screen and had a smirk to match it "Now, Mr. Justice, I noticed that you never told any of us the names you and Junie came up with."

This earned a chuckle from the man on the other line.

It was true that Apollo nor Juniper had never revealed what they were naming their unborn offspring and they seemed to have intended to keep the secrecy up until the little thing was welcomed into the world at least. It was sort of annoying for everyone but they were patient for the last few months and certain people were beginning to get impatient and wanted so badly to hear the name. However Apollo and Juniper were refusing this request every time.

They were very persistent on keeping the names secret until the little bundle was at least born into the Ace attorney group and it was hard not to become aggravated by this.

"_Nyooope, sorry! Juniper and I want the names to be top secret information." _Came the smug reply.

Apollo must have been made of stone to be this stubborn! How could he withstand this many badgerings in these last nine to eight months and how on earth could he be this strong to last so long against her? Athena had tried everything to get the information and Trucy had tried even harder, even going as far to blackmail him in a teasing way! Trucy was clearly wanting to hear the name of her new niece or nephew ASAP and was just as rock solid against the storming wait and refusals.

Athena rolled her eyes irritably. Of course Apollo wouldn't break! He could never tell her the names he nor Junie had chosen for their upcoming blessing. She should have expected this with no surprise at all yet the shock still hit her hard. The yellow-wearing woman would have folded her arms across her chest if she had not been driving so she just turned her head away in a sulk.

"Hmph. Fine then, I guess I'll have to wait it out but you'll break down soon..." She smiled mockingly and narrowed her sapphire blue eyes vengefully, a cool yet freezingly evil chilling aura emitting from her sharp grin and narrowed-into-slitted eyes "Mark. My. Words!"

However her attention was brought up towards the sky again at the sound of Taka screeching into the wind above them, as if he was announcing something.

Athena had only noticed recently that they were now alone on the empty, on-going road ahead but there were also signs beginning to appear for an airport. What, why were they going to an airport!? Who on earth would be dumb enough to book them a plane when they were very likely to get spotted by the public!?

She couldn't think of anyone other than Detective Fullbright but everyone knew that he was dead and the one they knew who was impersonating him actually turned out to be one of the main bad guys here...couldn't be him then. It could be a trap too, however, there was no way that could be ruled out as a possibility. They were nearly crushed after all.

Athena frowned in confusion and didn't dare question why they were going to an airport but she did cast her eyes over to one side for a moment to see that Apollo had the exact same look in his eyes and he too was glancing towards her with much uncertainty.

The two attorneys at law said nothing as the three cars drove towards their supposed destination but where were they going exactly?

Upon arrival, only one name was written on a sign when Taka had led them to a small cargo plane:

**_Japan._**

* * *

**A/N: Dun-Dun-Duuuuuuun! It seems that Athena, Apollo, Trucy, Phoenix and company are going to Japan! What a leap, isn't it!? **

**At least Athena and Apollo were able to have a nice chat through Bluetooth (which is the only thing I could really think of so please don't hate me) and it appears that someone had snuck our heroes on to a small cargo plane. How will they cope? **

**Find out!**

**-Chloemcg**


	15. Japanese welcome and stress

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The flight to Japan was long and trying.

Poor Apollo was suffering most of all since the cargo plane Simon had apparently booked had been filled with numerous crowing hens and a rooster. He was allergic to chicken feathers, apparently, and it didn't seem like he was lying since he had spoke through clogged up sinuses, his ocular structures were quite irritated (in other words his eyes were wet and bloodshot) and he was constantly sneezing viciously.

They were glad when they finally stepped off the plane next morning and Apollo was now covered in blisters and feathers stuck to his skin that was already bearing a nasty rash. Apollo looked terrible as he was dizzily stumbling around with Trucy assisting him to walk even though her friend was moving as if he had drank more than a few pints.

The group huddled close as they wore their own set of disguises to hide their identities. Apollo wore a fedora and a large baggy trenchcoat, making him almost unidentifiable as he wore his brown clothing and his short, brown goatee even concealed who he was. Phoenix wore his baggy hoody and blue "GrandPapa" beanie, with some sunglasses covering his eyes and eyebrows and the fact that his chin was beginning to grow some stubble due to the lack of shaving was a good thing.

Trucy had removed her top hat, gloves and boots and only wore her magicians cape now to at least keep a little of her identity with her but she also wore a plain T-shirt and a long skirt that reached down to her hips. Junie wore some nice items associated with nice nature-related items and she wore a nice dress that was soft on her huge maternal belly and she wore a nice shawl over her shoulders but she also wore a nice straw hat with some cherry blossoms stitched to the apricot-pink ribbon of the hat to match the Japanese theme. Athena had tied her long, ginger hair into a ponytail and swept her wing-shaped bangs a little over her eyes (she didn't look much very different but somehow people were fooled) and she wore a yellow kimono to also match the theme of their destination. Widget was very easy to hide.

The children didn't really need to change their outfits as they were alright how they were currently dressed. Alakazam just passed his cape off as him wanting to be a magician when he grew up and Star and Luna constantly changed their clothes but not their hair so they were fine even though Star needed some glasses to hide her unique orbs from the world.

Clearly Star was sad about hiding her eyes but she understood and didn't really question it.

Anyways Phoenix and everyone else walked into the main room where it was very crowded and there was lots of people searching for someone to take them home or rather but luckily Taka had flown up and led Phoenix and companions to Simon who was waiting with Maya, Pearl and even Aura who were not dressed in disguise but then again they couldn't really cast any suspicion as long as they acted relaxed. Besides it was Phoenix and the others who were wanted, not Simon nor anyone else.

Athena was overjoyed when seeing Simon and instantly tackled him in for a hug, finally allowing her tears from earlier to flow down her cheeks "Oh, Simon! I missed you!"

Simon chuckled as he stroked Athena's tied up hair to comfort her, smiling kindly all the while as he expressed his love for who he considered his younger sister "Heh, I missed you as well...Cykes-dono."

While Athena was in the kind embrace of Simon and Aura, Maya basically tackled Phoenix to the ground.

"Nick, I haven't seen you in _forever!_ How've you been?!" The Kurain master Spirit medium nuzzled her head against Phoenix's cheek. She hasn't changed much at all, in all honesty, she still wore the same outfit and had her same styled hair but in some strange way...she resembled her mother in some really odd way. He wasn't entirely sure if it was the fact that her height was about the same as Misty Fey's or that she had the same kind eyes as her but he just felt something odd about them.

The ace attorney smirked through her snuggling and managed to prop himself up a little and told her "I-I'm fine, Maya! Please let go of me."

She quirked a cheeky brow but complied with her friend's wishes as she parted her arms from Phoenix's neck and ceased hugging him so tightly "You haven't changed a bit, Nicky-boy."

Phoenix jumped to his feet and helped his friend up to her own feet.

They both grinned at each other happily as they recalled the times they both had together when they were younger and more active. They both met when Maya was accused of the murder of Mia Fey, Phoenix's mentor, and he had helped her out readily. They went on many misadventures together until the one involving Matt Engarde where her life was threatened and he narrowly saved her by the skin of her teeth and got Matt a "not guilty" verdict which should have ended him by now.

However Maya felt useless after that so she decided to train and become master of the Kurain temple until she was strong enough. She had exceeded expectations but eventually the Fey and Kurain clan had multiplied to a rapid amount somehow and they needed to move somewhere more in touch with their spiritual centres...what better place then to live then a place filled with peace and tranquility such as Japan?

It was then that they were snapped out of their trance when a certain young lady cleared her throat "Er, Daddy..." Phoenix turned his head towards Trucy whom had folded her arms across her chest impatiently "Shouldn't you introduce Polly and Athena to a certain someone?"

Phoenix sighed and shook his head but a smile was still worn. That was very subtle of Trucy...not. He gestured to Apollo and Athena and Juniper, Star, Luna and Kazam with a very happy look in his otherwise sly eyes.

"Maya, these guys are Apollo Justice, his wife Juniper, Athena Cykes, Athena's girls: Luna and Star, and my cute little grandson: Alakazam Wright."

Maya introduced herself to Phoenix's friends with a Japanese-style bow and a huge grin on her face "Hello, guys! Or I should say Konichiwa and welcome to Japan!"

Everyone was happy by this meet and greeting but it was then that Pearl decided to cut the meeting short with a cautious urgency in her eyes and she still had the pretzel-shaped hair, this no doubt was a very serious time and the best time to try and run away before someone smart saw Phoenix through his hobo-ish outfit/disguise.

"Um, Mystic Maya, I'm not wanting to cut off you and Mr. Nick's romantic reunion but we really should get going."

Phoenix furrowed a brow of suspicion. Clearly Pearl hadn't gotten over the plain bizarre idea that him and Maya were a couple but he could perfectly assure them that they were really good friends and not anything more nor anything less. He decided not to be mean and correct her after many tries and attempts at changing her mind about the romance things.

Although he did notice the looks of great intrigue written all over his comrades faces and knew that by their faces and slack jaws that they would want to hear a huge and good explanation about this apparent "romance" between him and Maya.

"C'mon..." Apollo continued through a blocked nose "I wanna have a bath and get rid of these annoying feathers...ACHOO!" He sneezed and more feathers came flying off him.

Aura did intervene to make this less awkward, though, as she narrowed her eyes and began to shove everyone towards the exit rather hurriedly "Come you idiots, we need to get going or else suffer the grave consequences." She said nonchalantly, her lifeless eyes slitted angrily as she proceeded to shove them all with an almost super-human strength. Everyone was surprised and began to object strongly even though she was an incredibly scary woman when provoked and even irked.

It was a fact: the Blackquill family was really scary.

Before they even knew it, everyone was in a car that Arua began to drive while Simon (now reunited with Taka) had his prized bird perched upon his shoulder and scratched affectionately at his little head even though it weirded everyone else out. The twins, Athena, Juniper, Apollo, Trucy, Phoenix, Maya and Pearl had all been sandwiched in the back seats with their luggage and were so unnerved that none of them could really breathe without smelling the person next to them's breath and Alakazam sat on Simon's knee.

Juniper was especially sickened by smelling everyone's breaths since she was still in a nauseous condition from the plane ride and Apollo was shifting and fidgeting at his burning scratches and feathery rashes that covered him a lot.

While they were squished together, though, they managed to look out the windows and see that Japan was really a pretty place to be as they peered out into the huge city filled with cute chibi items filling a lot of the place, especially for logos for shops with their strange-written language. There was even a few neon lights that were off because of the daylight shining through but it was clearer than the sky that those neon lights would be very bright at night and the entire city would most likely be so bright that it would blind on lookers from far away.

During their really squished drive, however, Phoenix had a very good suggestion to make "Say, I have an idea." Everyone looked at the ace attorney in preparation to hear his "idea" and hear him out on this "Why don't we look around the place when we get the chance?"

Everyone just stared at their leader as if he had told them he was going to dye his hair pink or something but Phoenix ignored them and continued, reading their faces to know what they were thinking.

"Don't worry, we'd be searching for organisation Z.E.R.O agents too. It'd be scoping the place out and seeing if they would find us here." He assured them but nobody looked any less worried.

Apollo spoke up first, his voice filled with actual worry as his face broke into a certainly cold sweat. Actually he was even clutching on to his bracelet in worry as his fedora fell on to his lap and exposing the fact that his horns of hair were now floppily dangling in front of his darker brown eyes and he was even rubbing at it.

"B-But Mr. Wright, I think we should trust Maya and the Kurain village to handle it if they find us! I don't think its a good idea!" He exclaimed.

Phoenix understood Apollo's worry but knew it would be better to split up to explore the area. He knew that the Kurain were not fighters nor even violent and that they would not provide the protection they needed even though they were offering them a nice place to stay for awhile until the bounty thing cools over. He trusted Maya with his life but he knew that it wouldn't be a good thing to put anyone else innocent of all this at risk for their sake.

He lowered his head to look at his lap shamefully despite the small amount of room to move and muttered hesitantly "I know, Apollo, I know but the Kurain can't fight our battles and besides they want peace and not violence. We have Prosecutor Blackquill but he won't be enough to save everyone even with his..." He chose his next words very carefully since he could basically see Simon holding a blade towards his direction whilst glaring daggers towards him with of his eyes "..._awesome _moves."

Simon put the blade away, grinning in a satisfied way. Clearly he was satisfied what that word to describe his battle techniques but he lowered his head in agreement.

Athena decided to cut in "But, Mr. Wright, we can't fight them! We're only simple defense attorneys, after all, who have no fighting experience what so ever!"

Apollo would have folded his arms if he wasn't trying to itch them but he did point his own eyes towards her "But Athena can't you flip people over if they suddenly grab you?"

Athena seemed to have been in deep thought for a moment. It was true she had some skill of self defense but she didn't know any martial arts moves or anything, it wasn't like she had planned to fight people psychically even though she usually threatened people she hated to do something horrible to them. She said shamefully.

"Yes, I flip people over but that's just a _reflex_! I don't really hurt people unless it's totally necessary."

Phoenix somehow managed to worm his hand towards his face and he pinched the bridge of his nose to ease the headache he was beginning to get and he sighed heavily in defeat of questioning it further "...Aggh, can't anything look good for us right now?"

Juniper decided to cut in. She looked determinedly at everyone's direction since she had the most space out of everyone considering her condition. She spoke out in her soft voice, her brows furrowing to make her wear a stern glare towards the others.

"Well I think it'd be a nice change of pace to scout the area a little bit, we may be ambushed while we think everything's okay after all!"

Everyone was shocked to hear the pregnant meek young woman say that. She was usually shy around taking action but now she was the bravest out of them all! Seriously? Did Juniper just agree with something dangerous and crazy?! Apollo would probably be even more reluctant now.

"B-B-But Junie-!" Athena began although she was cut off by the girl herself who glared at her.

If looks could kill then Juniper would have made everyone who dared question her judgement burst into flames before they quickly were reduced into the most sinister of crisp remnants. Nobody knew that it was even possible for Juniper Woods-Justice, sweetest little lamb ever, to be angry in any shape or form but now everyone was proved wrong.

"I'm definitely going and nobody can stop-" It was her turn to be cut off when she winced in pain, her face squeezing and pinching together as a sudden sharp pain washed over her with a sudden force that she didn't even see coming. It came from one place but she knew everyone would worry if she put a hand on the source so her shaky hand just hovered defiantly over her balloon-shaped stomach.

Apollo most definitely noticed.

He quickly went put a hand on her shoulder but she just cringed away. It sort of hurt his feelings when she resisted his touch like this but he simply asked with a deeply concerned voice "J-Juniper, are you alright?!"

After a moment Juniper regained her composure and sat up straight, showing no more signs of pain and she shot daggers at nobody in particular as she demanded "I'm fine, Stop the car!"

Nobody dared question her motives so, knowing that Juniper needed to blow off some steam and get over the sudden mood swing, Aura quickly performed a quick stunt and stopped the car beside a curb leading towards a conveniently placed mountainous region.

Juniper slammed open the car door and stormed out, not even looking back despite Apollo trying to call her back in. "Juniper, come back!" He called desperately but her form got smaller and smaller from sight.

It was no good, someone needed to go and get her! She was far too vulnerable right now to be all alone.

Apollo went to unstrap his seat belt, despite that his arms were still itchy from the chicken feathers but Trucy put a hand on the clad red attorney at law's shoulder to prevent him from doing so with a look of urgency on her face "Apollo don't! she clearly needs to blow off some steam and seeing you right now clearly won't help!" She reasoned with a frown, her face stern.

Apollo tried to argue but he couldn't come up with any. However someone had to go after her, after all she was lying when she said that she was alright. He decided to tell that to them too so they knew how urgent this was "She was lying when she said she was fine a moment ago, her stomach was clenching; I saw it!"

His breathing became erratic and desperate as he watched his wife get smaller and smaller from how far away she was getting as she traveled up the mountain. Clearly Apollo's power to perceive others tenseness through unseen nervous tics was much stronger now than it was years ago but it didn't really change the situation at hand.

It was then that Phoenix volunteered "I'll go, it's my fault she jumped the shark and I'll go see if I can talk some sense into her and see what I can do."

He was about to get out of the car when he felt someone grab on to the sleeve of his arm desperately and he was very shocked to see who it was, staring at him with glassy eyes that looked very close to tearing up. Phoenix looked at Apollo who was now able to move since there was one person who had left and that gave them a bit of moving space. Anyways, Phoenix didn't need Athena's special sense of hearing when Apollo begged him in no attempt to hide the deep layer of fear in his voice but he stared at the grown man patiently.

"M-Mr. Wright...Please talk to her, she may tell you why she was in pain a second ago..." He basically blubbered as tears began to stream down the grown man's face. It surprised Phoenix to see a grown man, Apollo especially, have tears roll down his face while looking so childishly innocent. He really did reflect a lost little child as he clung to his arm but a man crying didn't show weakness, it just showed that Apollo cared for Juniper so much.

Phoenix put a gentle hand on the young man's shoulder with a reassuring smile. He was now determined to get to the bottom of this as he just told Apollo and everyone else "Go with Maya to the new Hazakura temple, guys; I'll come back with Mrs. Justice in a few minutes and Aura can meet us here when she comes back."

It was very reluctant but Apollo moped up his tears and gave a nod. He knew he could trust Mr. Wright with anything, especially his own wife. So he decided to leave this to him even though he was worried about Juniper catching a death a cold out there.

"I'll see ya all soon." He assured them as he too got out the car and went to pursue the runaway mother-to-be but as he scaled the mountain upwards, he was unaware that he was in for an eventful time from here on in.

He narrowed his eyes as he sensed this...

"Welcome to Japan, Phoenix." He told himself.

* * *

**A/N: Ooooh, Phoenix and gang arrived in Japan and now Juniper has left everyone to go and calm down but what is the matter with her? I think you guys already know what's going to happen in the next chapter and I am REALLY proud of this chapter and hope you like it too.**

**...I also thought it would be funny to see Apollo allergic to chickens for some reason.**

**I may make a reference or two to an upcoming game that will come soon that features Phoenix's ancestor. I can't right for it, btw, I think it will be just plain awesome! I can't wait to see a member of Phoenix Wright's family, especially a Japanese ancestor, in action. He even has a Katana I noticed!**

**Please review, guys.**

**-Chloemcg**


	16. Juniper's secret

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Juniper stared down at the small city of Japan, her eyes wistful and deep in thought as she sat on a small rock that was perfect for sitting on. She wouldn't tell anyone but her abdomen was constantly thudding in pain every few minutes, hitting her hard with a swift blow to all her senses.

She was lost in deep thought as she closed her eyes to take in the tranquil air of Japan, smelling the faint scent of the cherry blossom petals as a gust of wind blew them down directly to the city. She watched the fragile little things twirl and whirl around in the free air, feeling a small smile of peace twitch on to her lips as she fought the urge to sit and meditate.

She and Apollo would do this together if they were both feeling stressed and needed to self reflect on what was the matter and what the solution would be.

...Apollo.

She just lost control there because of the stomach pains intensifying, she didn't mean to yell at her husband when all he was was being concerned for both her and their child's well being. The flower girl took in a deep breath as she wanted to cry out so badly from another whack of pain hitting her hard. Her face contorted in pain.

It was then, however, she heard a familiar voice from behind "...Juniper, are you okay?"

She jumped in alarm and peaked over her shoulder, her head snapping around to get a look at her intruder, but she relaxed when she saw Mr. Wright all out of puff as he approached her, trying to hide his heavy gasps for air. He was clearly exhausted from the climb as he had been walking bent over, trying to rub at his ageing yet aching legs to ease his exhaustion.

"Huh...Huuuh," he breathed slowly and deeply "Finally, I...I don't have to...chase after you."

Juniper said nothing but lowered her gaze in shame.

Phoenix noticed this and stopped breathing so heavily so he could sit next to her and try and see what he could do to help her. He decided to get on a nicer line of subject first, though, to avoid getting yelled at by Junie "So Japan...looks pretty beautiful from all the way up here."

Juniper gave a small hum of agreement, her head kept low.

Phoenix saw the regret in her eyes. He shouldn't just bombard her with questions: that would probably stress her out, earning a coughing fit. He had to start on a subject delicate, and for a change, irrelevant to the case at hand. He kept his eyes down on the tiny form of Japan down below whilst he thought of an interesting topic to linger on.

"Y'know," he started "I have an ancestor who came from Japan in the Meji period. He wielded a katana blade with great precision...I wonder how I would look swinging a sword like that?" He put a thoughtful finger to his chin, his eyes narrowed deeply in thought.

Juniper was now intrigued that Phoenix Wright had a Japanese ancestor. One that could wield a katana, no less. She wanted to know a bit more about him for some reason as she looked towards her husband's hobo-dressed mentor "Really? What was his name?"

Phoenix chuckled a little "Believe it or not but he was a lawyer named Naruhodou Ryuunosuke..."

He smiled at the memory of his mother telling him about his ancestor and his partner; Susato Mikotoba, and hearing all their adventures in the Meji period of Japan. Phoenix was proud to have been related to such a great-sounding man! He wondered if Naruhondou had ever got a statue here in Japan? He'll never know, he supposed.

It seemed that the lawyer trait in the Wright family would never fate.

Like ancestor-like defendant!

Juniper went silent before she winced again, actually clutching her stomach this time as she leaned forwards. Phoenix put a supportive hand on her back with a face full of concern, it seemed that Apollo was right after all. She wasn't okay! But these signs did seem familiar somehow... He asked her very softly as he rubbed her back to soothe her "Ms. Justice, are you alright? You look like you're in pain."

Juniper nodded her head when he pain settled again "As I've told you earlier, I'm alright but thank you."

Now even Phoenix could hear the strain in her voice. She sounded like she could just about rip a man's hand off from the amount of pain she was in. He may not have had to use this tactic for anything other than investigations but it would be the only way to get the truth out of her since she was really adamant on telling him on her own.

He dug around in his hoodie pocket until he found his object and removed his sunglasses so he could see "them" well enough when she says it. Phoenix held the little nine-shaped jewel out in front of him like one would flash a police badge to prove their status and he asked in a very calm voice "Juniper is there something happening to you that you don't want Apollo, or us, to know about?"

Juniper cringed again but this time in fear. She didn't want to tell him and Apollo mustn't find out, especially not him! She shivered "N-No."

Then he saw them: a few chains surrounded Juniper and three red locks appeared.

Phoenix smiled a little bit. He had no evidence but he could still take a very good guess on how to break those Psyche locks. He hadn't seen them in awhile but he knew that now was not the time to reminisce on the old days and he had to focus on the matter at hand. He had to break those locks of her soul otherwise it may cost them dearly!

Even without his Magatama, the object he was using, he could tell that Juniper was lying.

The ace attorney knew that he needed to approach this in a delicate way otherwise he could make Juniper explode again...

"Alright, Ms. Justice, let's play a little game: I'll guess what is the matter with you and you'll tell me if I'm correct, alright?"

Juniper seemed shocked "...A-Are you saying you don't believe me?"

Phoenix furrowed a brow deeper. He was a bit worried that this would result in a very angry younger lady but he nodded. He couldn't lie to her since he wanted her to trust her completely and if he lied to get her to tell the truth then he'd doubt that she'd get somewhere even if she fell for it.

"I'm sorry, Juniper, but not for a single solitary second."

She didn't explode but she did cast her gaze down as if she was sad now. It was actually kind of hard to see that sweet little face look so sad. However Phoenix couldn't let himself become distracted by this and put on a stone face, frowning in determination.

He tightened his hold on the jewel and was eager on seeing this through.

"...Please, Juniper." He begged, sounding surprisingly compassionate for his usual authoritative tone.

The woman seemed to be in deep thought before another whirlpool of pain dragged her down and she tensed up to try and hide it even though it was very easy to see. She let the pain get the better of her and she squeaked "A-Alright, Mr. Wright, I'll do it!"

Phoenix was deeply concerned now. First Juniper explodes in the car and goes up to this crazy mountain to let her anger go and now she is in huge amounts of pain which she is refusing to let anyone help her with. He had a pretty good idea what was going on but a part of him really hoped that it wasn't what he thought it was. He nodded his head in approval and he spoke softly.

"Alrightie, Ms. Justice, let's get this started."

He glared at those psyche-locks. They were the only thing getting in the way of settling everything between his team for now.

"Why are you denying that you're in pain?" He asked patiently.

"B-But, I'm not!" Juniper coughed "Its just something I ate."

Phoenix folded his arms across his chest. He didn't believe her one bit. "And yet you're cringing every five minutes." He narrowed his brows when Juniper spoke up but it was more of a slip of the tongue sort of thing.

"Actually it's happening every 2.5 minutes..." Juniper didn't seem to realise what she just said and this made a sly smirk rise on Phoenix's lips as he knew she just slipped up unintentionally. He subconsciously tapped his chin to pretend to be thinking yet there was a look in his eye.

"Hmmm. I see, I see," He mumbled "and how would you know that if you weren't checking the time of these waves of pain?"

Juniper slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes went larger than bowling balls. Her skin went slightly pale as she knew that a part of her secret had just came out.

Phoenix heard the echoes of glass shattering as one of those psyche locks broke like glass falling and smashing to the floor. That sound was always so nice to hear because it usually meant that he had got one step closer to unlocking those imperative secrets.

He carried on "Any normal pain you wouldn't check this carefully so why would you do this?"

Junie didn't say a word to reply to this but she just sort of glared even though she was emitting a begging kind of aura, sort of like she was begging for him to stop there but he knew he couldn't do that. He wanted to know the truth.

Phoenix felt the wind blow at his hoodie and honestly it felt relaxing even though she could see that the relaxing environment had absolutely no effect on a certain lady seeing as she was looking increasingly pale and her breathing was hitching in her own throat. She was also clearly trying not to cough to give away that she was nervous.

He flashed her a look of sympathy as if to say "I'm so sorry" and maintained that strong face "But I have something else to ask, why do you try and hide it from you're husband. Surely he should know about that...and yet he seems to have no clue in the least."

He arched his head to one side "But why hide it from the one man who loves you to the extent of crying his eyes out?"

Again Juniper remained silent. She also looked off to the side as if she was both scared and ashamed of herself. She didn't want to hide it, obviously, but it seemed as if she really was giving him the answer in her face.

Phoenix figured it out almost instantly as he asked with a certain empathy "...I think I know what it is: you don't want Apollo to worry anymore than he has been, do you?"

Another lock broke but Juniper didn't move or say anything. She just looked very saddened and ashamed of herself even though her hand rested on top of her enlarged belly and she looked just about ready to cry. She did give a light cough and that was enough to tell Phoenix everything about how she felt right then.

That was two locks down and one more to go.

"The last thing I don't understand is...why do you also deny it yourself?" Phoenix asked.

Juniper gave the ace attorney a small glance "...I don't know what..." She coughed weakly "...you're talking about, Mr. Phoenix..."

Phoenix shook his head. Again he had it all figured out. The poor thing was probably beside herself because of this certain problem and was very worried about this since it had been nagging at her mind from the beginning, at Apollo's too.

This could be the only possibility for the both of them being here.

He asked her, in spite of already knowing the answer "Ms. Justice I think you're worried that you're kid'll die at birth because of you're constant ailments during this pregnancy." He smiled assuringly "Its okay you can tell me, I'll try and make everything better."

The wife of the red clad attorney sighed in defeat. It was clear she couldn't hide anything from the usually spiky-haired man and this actually made her feel a bit better. She finally glanced up and flashed Phoenix a small smile of gratitude.

"Alright," She sighed "I confess...I think I'm going into labour."

Phoenix smiled warmly and patted Juniper's back in a congratulatory manner and he chuckled a little bit. He should have let it sink in, though "Aw you see? that's good, you're going into labour and the baby's coming!"

...And then it sunk in.

He went a ghostly white colour and his strangled shriek left a big echo throughout the whole mountainous terrain, lingering in the area for what seemed like hours as Phoenix and Juniper had finished their questioning session.

"Wait, YOU'RE GOING INTO WHAT!?"

* * *

**A/N: And the Magatama returns! I thought it would be good to use that in there somewhere and what better place than this? I don't go back to school until the sixteenth encase your wondering so I'm uploading as much as I can.**

**I may not update as often but you never know. **

**Anyways next chapter we probably see Juniper have Apollo's child but will the parents worst fears be realised, and will Phoenix pull himself together and help her? **

**Btw, I really wonder what Phoenix would look like wielding a sword? We all know his ancestor will wield one in the upcoming game: Dai Gyakuten Saiban _ Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Bouken.**

**What will happen next? **

**Find out next!**

**-Chloemcg**


	17. Phoenix on the run

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Juniper breathed in deeply as Phoenix assisted her down the mountain with as much muscle as he could muster. It hurt his back as he done this and he tried to calm her whenever a contraction shot through her stomach by saying something like "your doing fine" or "we're almost there".

Clearly poor Phoenix was having difficulty help Juniper down the mountain as he wanted to get her some medical assistance right away. He would have carried her instead of making her lean on him but he didn't want to throw his back out this early into his golden years. He clenched his eyes shut as sweat dripped from his forehead from the remarkable amount of effort but Junie seemed to be in really bad shape as she would try and lie down each time another contraction hit.

The two struggled down steep, craggy rocks. How did Juniper even climb _up _here?

He heard Junie groan whence yet another contraction smacked her and he looked towards her squeezed up face of pain and agony. It was no secret that she was now in labour but Phoenix really didn't want to be the one to deliver that baby for many reasons: if it were to be stillborn then he didn't want to tell the parents, if he even tried to deliver that baby then he would faint without a doubt, he had no experience with medical stuff and lastly he had a feeling that it would be very awkward to deliver a baby when he was a dude.

The ace attorney let out a groan of his own as he slowly helped Juniper down the mountain and they both soon found themselves standing at the foot but Aura's car was nowhere to be seen. It must have been at least a few minutes since she had left to drop everyone else off at the new temple and now she wasn't here?! This could spell serious trouble for Phoenix and Juniper if something happened and their identities were uncovered.

Thankfully Phoenix had put his sunglasses back on so his eyes were covered but that was not what had caused the next problem however. It was that his hat was not properly fitted on his head.

The winds picked up all of a sudden and Phoenix's beanie flew off his head, thus making the spiky-haired ace attorney chase it to try and grab it as soon as possible but little did he realise was that people did get a chance to look at him and Junie and were instantly going mad over his black spiky hair before they ran to swarm the two, most likely to give them up to organisation Z.E.R.O but Phoenix couldn't let that happen as he finally grabbed his hat and panicked when he saw the massive crowd of Japanese folk rushing over towards them with angered faces.

Phoenix quickly realised what was happening as he fitted his beanie back over his head before grabbing Juniper's hand and running away down the street. He managed to pull her into his arms so he could carry her bridal-style but she was really heavy to hold because of the extra weight she carried around in her abdomen. Juniper looked up at her current leader and raised a brow at him whilst asking in a yelling form.

"M-Mr. Wright, I can walk! Maybe I should just-" She wasn't able to finish since Phoenix already came up with an answer as he kept running.

"No!" He exclaimed panickiedly, only looking at the road ahead in search of a place to run and hide from the angry crowd chasing them "If I did that, Juniper, then you're husband will have my neck!"

He shouted over the many voices of the Japanese angry mob behind them and the fact that he was running so fast that his feet were drumming against the sidewalk didn't make it a quiet walk in the park either.

Phoenix felt his heart pound as an adrenaline rush whacked him and he found himself exhilarating to a great speed and the world whirled by him and he pivoted around a corner where he dived into the shadows and stuck to them.

He had his back against a stone wall as he waited for the crowd of Japanese folk to run passed them but the seconds that ticked by were painstakingly slow for both the heavily pregnant flower girl and the spiky-haired defense attorney.

He could feel a cold sweat break through his skin and he shuddered while trying to calm his heart rate down so he could stop his heart from jumping inside his chest like a taiko drum. He continued to hold Juniper close to his chest, though, and he unknowingly cradled her to his chest to try and keep her silent although this didn't really prove affective since Juniper had been attacked by another contraction and she cried out in agony...just as the people were passing by.

It didn't take long for the angry mob to find them again and soon enough the both of them were running through the streets of the Japanese city even though the sunlight was fading behind some grim storm clouds and blackening the daytime streets of Tokyo Japan. The air was so stale that you could basically breath in a musty concrete each time you breathed in and there was even some signs of lightning coming up soon.

The darkness was grim, the sense of danger overwhelming...

Neither Phoenix nor Junie wanted to spend their time running like this especially with a little infant on the way.

Junie would eventually have to give birth and she couldn't do that in a not-so-calm and controlled environment. She needed to be with Apollo who would calm her while holding her hand through thick and thin, who would caress her face and kiss her lips until neither of them could breathe. She needed a place that would be filled with nice friendly faces and so did that little one she carried along with her.

...Those two _needed _to be at the Kurain temple and nothing would stop Phoenix from making that happen.

"Juniper, it's alright...just breathe." Phoenix calmed her down as he demonstrated how she should breathe and she actually found herself mimicking his hurried, oddly calm breathing patterns as she nestled her head against the older man's shoulder so she could be a little bit comfy where she laid in his strong arms. The two just rested beneath some shelter in another alleyway where they had hid whence the Japanese crowd had dashed passed them again but there was no way of knowing how hidden they'd be for long.

He placed the girl down on the cool rocky ground since he was beginning to feel her clammy skin seep through his hoodie. This alley was dark as well as cool so it would be the ideal place for now...plus, as an added bonus, this place stank of Japanese noodles that sort of made his mouth water from hunger even though it would probably be rotten by now anyways.

He propped the floral-loving young woman up by the head and shoulders, holding her up slightly to make her comfortable, and continued to help her until Aura arrived...if she'd even find them in time that is. He felt really worried for her actually, she didn't look well at all and she was even growing gradually more pale as time went on and more contractions shot through her painfully.

He gently used some leftover cloth from some rubbish bins and placed it over her head to soak up the huge amounts of bullets dripping from her forehead.

"Hold on, Juniper, Apollo will be there and help you soon..." He assured her as softly as he could without alerting anyone to their whereabouts and the poor sickly woman didn't seem to have much strength to spare to do this on her own right now. He just prayed that someone would come and get them right now.

His wish came true!

Just as Juniper was being crushed by yet another crampy pain in her swollen stomach, a certain red car parked right beside them and a door opened up to them to reveal Aura Blackquill as the driver.

'_Oh thank goodness, we're saved!' _He cried out inside his mind as he lifted Juniper up and helped her into the car so she could lay down in the back and probably doze off and relax through the ordeal that Phoenix was really glad he wouldn't have to go through.

It did make him feel really bad for all women though, did girls have to go through this everyday?...ouch.

"Where were you idiots, I searched forever for you!" Aura yelled whilst scowling a deatheningly frightening scowl that honestly sent shivers down the poor hobo-dressed Phoenix Wright's spine. He was about to get into the passenger seat as he asked her angrily, his voice filled with annoyance and frustration of what he had to put up with this morning.

"You weren't at the stupid car park where we told you to meet us and then we got chased all over Japan because my hat blew off and our cover had been temporarily compromised." He explained while pinching the bridge of his nose to try and decrease the chances of an oncoming headache from hurting him too much but this was in vain as he squeezed his eyes shut and felt his skull throb painfully from recalling he events that had recently taken place.

He couldn't pretend that this hour had been basically eventful for both Phoenix and Junie, they were undoubtedly rough. They had a headache trying to cope with it all and neither of them doubted that this would be any harder than what they had to go through for these past few minutes but for some reason they had a feeling hang over them, a feeling that told them all that things were far from over.

For now, nothing would ever be easy.

However as Phoenix was about to slide into the seat he heard something...

"**SOKO KARERA DESU!**" A Japanese voice shouted out from a fair distance.

"Drive, drive, DRIVE!" Phoenix yelled urgently and dived into the seat whilst Aura floored the pedal of her shiny vehicle and just moments later, the car sped off down the road and they sped towards a tunnel that probably led to the newly-made Hazakura temple, he didn't recall.

He was too busy looking out the side window to notice much of anything since he was lost in the realm of his own mind, many things crossing his mind as he didn't really know what to think about.

It all seemed like a blur as they sped towards the temple of spirit mediums and they were greeted by a huge building that had a very grand design and had impressive architecture for such a presumably old building of magnificence and beauty. There were many steps leading up to the museum-like temple and there were spirit mediums walking freely around the area but there were already a few nurse maid-spirit mediums waiting for them.

They rushed to the heavily breathing Junie and assisted her out of the back of the car before they helped her walk towards the temple where Apollo hastened to her side whilst his face was flooded with relief and he also helped her into the temple so she could give birth safely with a lot less complications.

As soon as Phoenix stepped out the car, Trucy, Athena, the twins and Kazam too rushed up the stairs and he decided to follow them up to give the couple some support from the outside of the room and hopefully be there to comfort the parents-to-be if the need should arise. Nobody knew what would happen from there but as Phoenix was about to disappear inside the temple, he felt a presence...

He froze on that last step completely as he was unable to move. It was strange to feel this...the presence felt familiar and it felt like it was shrouded in secrecy. His deep blue eyes flicked from left to right to try and find the source of that presence, narrowing them in suspicion as his face scrunched up to form a face of scepticism.

He felt an wariness that there was someone he knew waiting in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to pounce like the predator he was. He felt a familiarity to this unwelcoming spirit and he felt that it would forever haunt him for the rest of his days.

He shook it off, he needed to wait with Trucy and the others!

The ace attorney took off inside but that presence never left. Actually, little did they know, was that this person would bring everyone's peaceful lives to an abrupt end...

* * *

**A/N: Ohhh we see poor Phoenix and he and Juniper were chased by some of the civilians of Japan, it seems. It also seems that Apollo is going to be a dad in the next chapter, what will happen? He and Juniper will be parents but what else will happen? Who was that presence that Phoenix felt? **

**I hope you liked this chapter and you all review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	18. Apollo and Juniper's relief

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Silence... That was what swept through the ivory halls as the group which was two members and a half short sat there, doing nor saying nothing as they could do nothing but purplex while staring at the walls blankly.

Trucy was watching Kazam play hide and seek with Pearl's daughter, Bella, Luna and Star. They were all hiding in obvious yet good places to hide in the limited amount of hiding places, especially for a two year old. Athena was fiddling with Widget with nothing much else to do. Phoenix was just thinking to himself, also unable to do much else apart from that.

They were all worried for Apollo and Juniper whom were both in another room. Junie had become sick with a bad case of the flu, since she was in a high altitude thanks to the mountain she stormed off to and the fact that she was surrounded by chickens in the plane didn't help. When they got here to the temple she was immidiately rushed into the medical wing where she and Apollo had been ever since Phoenix arrived back with her.

Nobody knew how long it had been since they arrived but it felt like an eternity, that much they knew.

Time dragged on for ages and ages and everyone was dying of boredom.

The suspense was killing to put it bluntly.

Time just managed to slip away further and further into the invisible clock of time and become apart of the past, catching everyone off guard as they didn't know what to do other than chew their nails into nothing but sharp clippings on the floor. However they heard something before that could happen and they each gasped when they heard the unbearable silence gnawing at their minds.

They were told to expect the baby to be born early but didn't know really what to expect.

Everyone slowly stood up and proceeded towards the closed door, mere curiously taking control of them, but when they were about to open it, an angry maid popped out from a creak behind the opening door and barked at them all angrily, scaring the Ace attorney group out of their socks as they made a hasty retreat towards the nearby corridor, each of them screaming like little girls in terror and they turned a corner far down the halls so they could hide from the scary medicine maiden.

"Go away! You youngsters are not to come in until we say otherwise!" She barked angrily, watching Phoenix and companions run away with a spring in their steps and worried faces flooded with panic.

After yelling this the woman retreated back inside the room so she could tend to the new arrival with the other nurse maids of the Hazakura temple #2.

A disturbing silence followed this as the group tried to come out of hiding but were honestly too scared to do this with that scary women about. Their heavy breathing could be heard echoing down the hallway as they had their backs stuck to the walls of the sharp right corner down the corridor so you couldn't see them yet their raspy, heavy breathing did manage to give them away. Nobody wanted to leave the safe wall but knew that they had to leave sooner or later.

Nobody came out of hiding until Apollo came out to get the others. He just walked out of the door belonging to the room himself and Juniper had stayed in for this long while and he looked left and right to try and find his comrades.

His horns of hair drooped slightly when he heard the shaky whimpers of Alakazam coming from down the hall. His brows drooped and he frowned to paint a look on his face that just said "really?" and he rolled his eyes when he called out towards them yet he toned down his Chords of steel a bit so he would prevent anymore strife or scares.

"...Er, guys?" He called out, his hand beside his mouth so he could ensure that his voice would be toned down "you can come in now, its safe."

One by one: Phoenix, the Twins, Athena, Trucy, Bella and Kazam poked their heads out from behind a nearby corner.

They all wore a wide-eyed expression full of caution but they changed into gentle smiles when they saw Apollo wear a similar smile and his eyes were soft too, he was clearly very happy right now.

This told them one thing: Junie was going to be fine.

Apollo gave his friends a hand gesture and they came closer towards him and when they all stood before the pale blue door, Apollo whipped his head to his left and put a finger to his lips to wordlessly tell them not to talk too loudly...even though he was mentally telling himself not to speak too loudly.

The young man with the spiky fringe opened the door and quietly let everyone in so they could see the fragile mother-to-be for themselves.

Juniper was smiling sweetly as she beamed down at her swollen stomach, stroking it lovingly with a tender hand as she felt happy that she was alright. Her cheeks were all rosy and her skin was still a bit pale but better than earlier at least.

Some shreds of sunlight beamed down on the mother-to-be as she stared up at her visitors with dark rings around her eyes, making her look a bit more sickly.  
There was no nurses in the room since they most likely departed to give the young lady some time alone so she could recover.

Especially that loud, scary woman.

Apollo slowly proceeded to walk over to his wife and sit on a chair beside the bed, his face filled with this wistful relief as he leaned in to look at his wife and he caressed her face softly. His deep brown eyes wandered towards the others as they walked closer towards the edge of the bed as if they didn't want to disturb the infant who had just been welcomed into the world and they wore equally sweet smiles on their faces.

Apollo was actually crying tears of relief as he gently hugged her to express how relieved he was.

Everyone was silent.

Juniper was happily content in her husband's hold. She softly smiled as Apollo held her head in his hands whilst he touched his forehead against hers. The young man had tears trailing down his cheeks as he closed his eyes whilst sobbing his worries out of his system.

"Oh, J-Juniper...!" He sniffed "Don't scare me like that." He kissed her head.

Athena folded her arms across her chest and raised a brow "Don't cry, Apollo, you're gonna flood the room with you're tears."

Apollo glared at the red haired attorney at law dryly. He still held his beloved wife in his arms, cradling her from side to side against his chest. He used a hand to prop his withering horns of hair up on his head while he told her with a maintained whisper "Shut it, Athena, she almost died. She needs peace and quiet."

Apollo looked down and lightly stroked Junie with a finger. He was still crying but a smile was on his lips as he tried not to allow his emotions to get the best of him.

Athena sighed. Of course Apollo would be defensive of his lovely flower girl, it was just in his nature. He would get very protective of Juniper if anyone should make fun of her and her weak immune system and he would even go as far as to threaten snap people's necks.

He could be really scary. Yet it was admittedly sweet.

However Apollo laid Juniper down again so he could look at the others whom stood at the door.

A small, pudgy hand went up in the air in reply.

Apollo looked down at the source of the hand and saw Kazam standing up on his tip toes to try and get a looksee of his Aunty Juniper. Even though she was just barely out of seeing range for him, Kazam was very desperate to see if the pregnant sickly girl was alright.

Apollo chuckled in response at seeing the little boy so enthusiastic to see her and managed to hoist Alakazam on to his lap so he could look "There ya go, Kazam." He smiled and watched the toddler lean in to get a good look at his beloved wife's face even though she looked pale and sweaty.

Poor Junie looked like she had been going through hell and back. Her skin tone was constantly changing from ghostly white to a pale green and she was constantly burning at the forehead indicated by the sweat trickling down and her nervous breathing pattern.

Kazam very gently patted Juniper's limp hand.

Soon enough, she fell unconscious and drifted off to a deep sleep. Apollo gently stroked her burning head with both adornment in his eyes and fear, not surprising considering that he almost lost his beloved wife, after all.

He looked worriedly at the others and whispered to them softly "...She is gonna be a little off for awhile, our kid and her both had been through quite the scare."

Trucy furrowed her brows in confusion yet she asked her question with her voice low "But why was she in pain, Polly?"

Apollo sighed. He had been explained the reason, of course. But it worried him to death since it meant that it would stress the little being growing within his wife and he placed a gentle hand over Juniper's swollen abdomen.  
He explained in the softest voice he could possibly use as he stroked his unborn child as softly as possible.

"Apparently the baby was unwell too and became startled about what was going on, if Juniper's ill then the poor little thing's sick too."

His voice was really soft as he crooned. Everyone could see the tears spilling down the poor guy's cheeks as he hated seeing his poor wife in such discomfort and stress.

Phoenix lightly bounced on his feet whilst managing the softest grin he could muster. He knew that Juniper would be fine since she had been through tougher situations. However that presence he felt earlier still plagued his mind, it actually worried him beyond belief as he tried to comprehend it inside his head. Who could it have been?! It ate away at his head like little termites eating away some wood.

He heard someone call him and thus bring him out of his train of thought. He had forgotten where he was until now!

"Boss, are you okay?" Athena asked with her eyes filled with sapphire blue eyes.

Phoenix looked across to the lawyer/expert of psychology in confusion and it seemed that he had little to no idea of what she was asking him this for, even though a single possibility nicked at the back of his mind and he raised both wiry brows to his protege.

She continued "I can sense a somewhat fearful vibe coming off of you..."

Luna and Star added with their own nods of agreement "Yeah, Mister Wright, we can also sense it."

Luna asked with a cocked brow "Whats bothering you?"

Phoenix hesitated on answering that. Everything was happy up until this point and he didn't want to risk smashing the actual nice moment for this moment in time. Besides they should be safer within the village temple walls and hopefully organisation Z.E.R.O wouldn't use the technology they stole even though that the possibility of using them was very high, seeing as how they couldn't have just stolen those items for no reason.

His breath hitched in his throat as Phoenix mulled it over and he knew that Apollo, the twins and Athena would probably be able to see through his lies...

He closed his eyes and sighed a sigh so heavy that it made Solomon Starbuck's constant sighing seem small in comparison.

"I-Its nothing...I'll tell you later." He said facing away from his teammates.

Apollo and Athena both shared a scorn that they burned into the back of their bosses' head. They both knew that Phoenix was lying through his teeth and neither of them wanted to know what he was thinking about nor did they want to know what he was lying about. This was supposed to be a nice, fuzzy moment that brought people together but instead...

There was this impending doom looming over them, stalking them like a lioness to some wildebeest in the long tall grass in the savannahs of Africa.

Juniper sighed tiredly all of a sudden, catching everyone off guard. It seemed that the poor girl was exhausted from the ordeal and needed to sleep heavily for awhile to regain the energy she had lost going through that pain and sickness all this time. Apollo quietly stood up and gently allowed Kazam to get off his lap and he walked over towards Mr. Wright to gently urge him to help kick the others out.

Phoenix slowly nodded in understanding and smiled sadly as he watched the young man with the spiky thorns of hair retreat back towards the bed Juniper laid in and he once again sat down in the chair beside the bed with a gentle smile on his face as he resumed stroking her head, kissing her cheeks and head softly so she would feel happy and content but he also stroked her huge belly from time to time

"C'mon, guys, let's see what we can do while we're here and leave these two alone..." Phoenix suggested in a low whisper as he got to work on ushering everyone else out of the room and despite the many objections, he was happy to get away from the subject of Athena and Apollo suspecting him of knowing something important they didn't and they were soon all standing back out in the hallways whilst chatting about their next move.

The ivory halls were glistening like a fresh coat of snow twinkling in the daylight, like it had been polished moments ago while they were in the room and they had to admire the craftsmanship. Clearly the old occupant whom owned this Japanese, archaic temple had refined tastes and took greater care of this home than their own lives.

After a moment full awkward silence, Trucy spoke up "...So what do we do now, Daddy?"

The Ace attorney smirked deviously. He knew exactly what he was going to do as he turned on his heels and began to walk towards the dinner hall. He couldn't prevent an evil chuckle from escaping his throat as he had his back turned on the others.

"I'm going to talk to Maya about getting us all jobs...and seeing to it that Apollo cleans the toilets here too."

Trucy grinned in an equally evil manner and she rubbed the palms of her hands eagerly "Ooh, how devious! Do we get jobs here too?"

Phoenix nodded his head a bit, his devilish smirk turning into a sly grin instead "Of course we can, sweetie, anything for Daddy's baby girl."

Trucy cheered. She still acted like a little girl at times which made her adoptive father's heart swell up with pride. He adored the magician with every bone of his body since he had known her since she was just a sweet little eight year old. She always found a way to make him proud and it was just another joy that it went the same for his grandson.

Phoenix took Trucy's hand and proceeded to lead her towards the dinner hall with the others following close behind. He couldn't wait to talk about temporary jobs to help out around the temple while they waited for this to boil over.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys. I'm just saying it right now but even if it may seem like it, this story is FAR from over. It's not even close to being finished yet, you know. There's some more places Phoenix and the others needs to go to and there's many more friends for our AA heroes get to meet up with again.**

**I'm sorry if these past few parts have been pretty illogical but I intend on changing that in the next few chapters.**

**I also plan on making another chapter involving Kristoph and the Phantom.**

**What did you think of this chapter? I hope that it's okay that I'm redoing everything...**

**Lets see what else could be done in the next chapters ahead...**

**We may even see more of Pearl, her OC daughter Bella, and Maya in the next upcoming parts.**

**Thank you for now!**

**-Chloemcg**


	19. In the dead of night

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

In the spare bedroom in the medical wing, all was quiet.

Juniper and Apollo softly laid against each other as they slept, unable to do nothing but breathe in and out as they both tried to recover from the horrible ordeal that had startled them both near to death as they slept by the gentle candlelight that came from the bedside table.

Apollo's snores were especially loud seeing as he was born with pretty good lungs that worked more than had originally intended but they barely managed to mask Junie's much softer snores and whimpers of pain that stung at her throat as she stirred and wriggled in her slumber. She was clearly uneasy and a certain someone sneaking into your room certainly wouldn't ease that feeling.

Indeed, the young pregnant woman should have been thankful that she was asleep. Since Kristoph Gavin decided to slip in through the window, allowing a draft to creep into the bedroom as he entered with a smirk on his face. This was the first time he had seen Apollo Justice since his imprisonment and he couldn't deny that seeing the young man look so alive and well did make his blood boil like a brew burning within a dark cauldron.

The older brother of the Gavin's smirked evilly as he took in his light-hearted surroundings but especially noted Apollo's wife, Junie, and her heavily bloated abdomen which proudly announced one thing to him in plains sight: she was pregnant.

This was not a truth easily denied and he knew that a dainty flower such as herself wouldn't go out of her way to pig out and eat herself silly so this was the only answer to this.

Kristoph pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and grinned down at the couple as he deftly proceeded towards the bed and he stood over Juniper whom clearly sensed his presence in her sleep as she now whimpered a little louder and whined in pain, clearly a sign that she was sick and very scared.

He simply smiled surprisingly softly yet there was a cold edge to that grin and he knelt down beside the bed and caressed Juniper's hair to soothe her, easing her slightly as he softly pinned her down.

"There now, my dear...no harm shall I bring to you." She seemed to have grown less tense and clammy under his touch as he brought a hand to her sweaty head and he stared down at the unborn child that Juniper carried in her belly and saw a small jump from it that made her gasp a little in response as she continued to sleep heavily "Your child, on the other hand..." He paused for a moment, taking this plan into full consideration "I shall try and make this as painless as possible for you."

He brought out some gloves and snapped the elastic on to his hands to make the scene as intimidating as possible, narrowing his eyes devilishly as he smirked. He whipped some of his platinum blonde hair back so it wouldn't get in the way of his face and he went to carry out his quest.

He dug a small device from one of his pockets which Matt Engarde had given him and told him to give to.

Juniper if she just so happened to be asleep. Kristoph grinned as he looked at the tiny device that flashed white and red, most likely signalling that it was working, and he planted the tiny device down on the pillow next to Juniper's head and observed as the tiny black gadget moved and tunnelled into the flower girl's ear, making her writhe in her sleep as she tossed her head to the sides.

This, in turn, had loosened the blankets tucked around her and messed up the neat placement. He grabbed the ends of the blanket and once again tucked it around Juniper's writhing form, his shadow looming over her body beneath her. He knew exactly how to make an entrance and make it intimidating!

Sparing a very evil smirk to Juniper's unborn infant belly, Kristoph patted it before glaring sadistically at poor Juniper whom growled softly and whimpered even more painfully than before although she tried to have been keeping them soft so to not wake Apollo.

Even subconsciously she cared about him...

How sweet.

Kristoph stood up slowly to stretch his tired legs and went to reproach the window with his frivolous purple attire blowing at the heavy night breeze. He clutched on to a soft peace of blue cloth and then he recalled that he had been holding it in the first place and he stared down at the smily-faced plushie with pristine eyes filled with confusion.

He would have just went out the window but for some reason, he was also tasked to place this thing in Apollo Justice's room...it was as if he knew a child was on the way for the couple.

Sighing a bit, Kristoph retreated back to the pregnant writhing flower girl in bed and planted the blue badger teddy by her side and stroked her swollen, balloon-like abdomen to ease her suffering just a little bit. He may have hated Apollo Justice and Phoenix Wright but that didn't mean that those close to the former deserved to suffer...well except for those carrying the "Justice" name by birth since they would probably get in the way later on.

He stroked the baby belly tenderly with a soft grin.

He knew what to do for now since he had reviewed the plan over and over again as he once again dashed off towards the window, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible. He jumped out of the open window and ran off into the night without another thought and hidden himself into the darkness surrounding the new Hazakura temple, blending in like a chameleon despite his attire and hair.

He hid in complete darkness, sticking to the shadows of nighttime.

Kristoph just decided to listen to what was going on within the inside of enemy territory.

Apollo had awoken to the sounds of Juniper's writhing and instantly blinked the sleep in his eyes so he could calm her down, he could see her convulsing in her sleep too so it must be an emergency if something was happening to her.

Without wasting another thought, the man with the thorns of hair gripped his pregnant wife's shoulders and shook her awake so she would calm down.

Upon waking up, the flower girl gasped frightfully as she panted heavily to try and calm herself yet she had a hand pressed to her ear and she coughed repeatedly, something she did if she was horribly frightened and stressed. She bolted upright and instantly sought out the comfort of her husband, Apollo, whom didn't dare hesitate on reeling her in and stroking her back to soothe her.

Junie cried heavily in pain. Why was her ear sore? Why was she so frightened? Why was she terrified and so hot and sticky? She felt sick with a burning fever as she clutched on tight to Apollo so she could feel his hands stroke her to calm her yet she was still breaking into fits of coughs and splutters of alarm.

"Juniper, what's wrong!?" He was startled honestly, but needed to calm her down.

Junie didn't know what was wrong but she knew that her head stung and burned within like a head wave to the head, tears continued to stream relentlessly down her cheeks and redden her cheeks from the intensity of her flowing tears. She needed her husband to hold her so she weakly tossed herself at him so she could bury her face deeper into the red velvet of Apollo's vest.

His voice whispered as she tried to stop crying so hysterically

"It's okay, I'm here..." Apollo tried to calm his pregnant wife and he stroked the back of her head, feeling her soft strands of dry mud brown locks tickle his fingertips as they ran down her head in a relaxing rhythm. He gently stared at her as he rubbed her back slowly downwards and repeated the process over and over until her crying and coughs had dulled into nothing more than soft whimpers and slight hiccups.

Finally Apollo managed to push Juniper away so he could once again hold her shoulders and stare her directly in the face with a soft, compassionate smile and one that she could trust.

"Shhh...Juniper, don't feel afraid. I'll always be there to help you, sweetheart, nothing will hurt you or our little guy while I'm around." He spoke softly and compassionately and he caressed one side of her face as gently as possible to hold it.

"Now tell me, Juniper, what happened?"

Juniper could do nothing. She was confused herself since she could remember almost nothing from before she had blacked out and she had no clue as to why her entire ear had hurt like that so suddenly. She looked at her surroundings and back at her husband with confusion written all over her pale, green face.

She responded, her voice hoarse from crying out like that.

"I-I just woke up and my ear hurt for some r-reason."

Apollo stroked her face tenderly, a small frown appearing on his lips as he propped her up against the bed. He didn't want her to strain herself by sitting up by herself, after all. However while he made sure to hold her up, he gently the back of his left hand against Juniper's forehead and felt it burn the back of his hand like steaming hot lava.

She clearly still had a temperature, it seemed.

He stared at her softly as Junie asked softly in confusion "W-What happened?" She sniffed "Where are we again?"

Apollo chuckled under his breath. Juniper wasn't exactly fully awake so it came as no surprise that she wouldn't remember earlier and much of the events of a few hours ago...

He shook his head while he closed his eyes softly. He proceeded to explain that she had come down with a bad case of the flu and had tried to hide it until Phoenix uncovered the reasoning for her hiding that same pain she tried to conceal in the car, causing her temper eruption at him earlier.

It was then that she recalled and frantically tried to apologise but Apollo had long since forgave her. It wasn't her fault that she was sore but it would have been really nice to have known beforehand. Besides he was too relieved at her to actually stay mad at her so he simply stroked her face and kissed her lips as gently as possible.

He felt the warmth of his own heartbeat mix with a feeling of joy as he softly embraced her, not wanting to do anything else but that. He wrapped his arms around her neck and held her close, not daring to let her go.

After a few moments of silence, Apollo decided to ask her the question that had bugged him since they had got to the second Hazakura temple "So how's our little guy or girl doing?" He softly stroked Juniper's baby belly with a finger but the reply he received to this question was a hesitant silence until she noticed her swollen abdomen jump a little, thus reassuring her troubled mind.

"They seem to be fine." Junie smiled happily in relief. She was worried for a second there, she wasn't going to lie.

Apollo too seemed relieved to hear that. He didn't want to lose his youngling so soon just before the birth of that child! That would break both Juniper and his own hearts since they really loved that unborn child with every bone in both of their bodies.

He held her close again and suggested, stroking her head a second time "Well then, now that you're calm again, why don't we get some more sleep?" He yawned tiredly as he cradled her against his chest while they both fell fast asleep in each other's embrace with Junie laid back in bed with the blanket tucked around her, thanks to Apollo's kindness.

During her thrashing, her blankets had become undone again and unwrapped themselves from her body. As they once again slept soundly, Juniper and Apollo's hands rested upon the lump where their infant grew inside like a flower in bloom.

They both felt happy that everything would be better but what did Kristoph do to Juniper?

Kristoph smirked evilly as he stared into the room from outside the window. He tweaked the lens of his sharp glasses that gleamed like pearls underneath the pale moonlight and he knew the next portion of the plan. He was to bide his time until the Phantom had done his part of the task but he was confused about the rest of the plan as one question plagued his mind:

What was Matt going to do?

* * *

**A/N: This is the redo of chapter 19. Sorry about that, it took awhile to do because of the same reason for another chapter's accidental deletion. I hope that this is a good enough redo of it and you all like it.**

**Please review.**

**Thanks!**

**-Chloemcg**


	20. Maya's disco soiree

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

As the day had passed carried on into the next evening following, everyone had been called into a sacred hall that had been newly refurbished and while everyone sat on the floor whilst looking up at Maya as if they were little children waiting for their class teacher to begin her first lesson of the day.

Maya played with a strand of her charcoal black hair as she smiled at the small crowd of spirit mediums and the Ace attorney group whom all stared at her with this whimsical awe which had made her heart warm up a bit at how innocent they all looked with grins on their faces. And they seemed very interested in what Maya had called them here for.

"Now then..." Maya started with a sharp grin on her face "You all must be wondering why I called you all here tonight."

Everyone nodded in confirmation. None of them could work out why they were needed so badly and even frowned when they couldn't come up with any reasons why they had been called to this meeting other than to eat the burgers that had arrived not too long ago and they couldn't think of much else other than a boring speech from Morgan who was to be strictly kept under careful supervision at all times.

Maya grinned when she saw those faces filled with lost hopelessness.

She gave them all a cheerful thumbs up and she winked to the neatly lined group of individuals with the perfect idea of why they were all called here in mind and she smirked to them all "Well, my naive little friends," she began thus earning an eye roll from Phoenix, Trucy, Apollo, Athena and Pearl whilst Juniper, Kazam and the twins stared at her blankly in confusion "There's a reason I brought you all here tonight and that's..."

She paused to give a suspenseful effect and she exclaimed loudly "TO PARTY!"

Within seconds of announcing that one word everyone broke into an applause, a very confused applause but an applause nonetheless.

Phoenix especially was surprised. Why were they having a party now of all times? He liked parties as much as the next guy but even he wouldn't throw a celebration right now of all times when they are still on the run from a certain elite spy group that managed to place a huge bounty on their heads, not even he would think of hosting a need for celebration. He was about to yell an objection but whatever comment he meant to say had become stuck in his throat when he received a cold glare from Maya and he shrank back a little since he knew how scary women could be when you argue with them in anyway.

He shuddered at the thought and didn't say a word as Simon Blackquill stood up from the audience, weaving through the crowd with swift yet pecise movements of the legs, and he walked up on the stage so he could stand alongside Maya and he added with a small grin "I share sentiments with Fey-dono and I believe this to be the opportune moment to relax." He suddenly turned his back against the crowd yet Athena could sense a subtle happiness residing in his voice.

Nobody said a word as the Prosecutor grinned and used a blade to cut up some ribbon that had been tied on to the back of the velvet curtains concealing those backstage. Following the sharp blade slicing through the ribbon with simple ease, the curtains backstage gave way and opened up to reveal a turntable that rested beneath a spotlight and alongside it was a karaoke machine.

It was the first time anyone had truly noticed but there was also a disco ball hung on the ceiling.

It then struck everyone what was going on here...or at least it confirmed that Maya was crazy enough to throw one; a party was just about to start!

Phoenix couldn't ignore the tainting of his cheeks whenever this realisation smacked him in the face. A party really was about to begin and with such inappropriate timing, too!

He froze as he watched Maya volunteer a selection of people to get up on stage to sing a duet or something on the karaoke machine whilst Athena volunteered to scratch some vinyls on the music-mixing turntables and decide which music to play. He noticed that Apollo and Juniper had already got up to dance whilst little Petal had been left on a table inside a nice basket which had clearly been made just for her judging by the flowers stitched on each side and how comfy the container looked.

Phoenix decided to keep the baby company whilst everyone else enjoyed themselves and allowed their worries and troubles to have been forgotten. They all acted like they were having a jolly good time as they danced with their partners and listened to the singing in the background and all the Ace attorney himself could do was try and keep a sharp eye on Trucy whom had a little too much to drink and he had been forced to sit her down where she couldn't cause trouble.

However he was very unaware that he was about to see an old face.

Phoenix held Trucy's hand and messaged it with a thumb to prevent his adopted daughter from wandering off elsewhere. She should hopefully regain some of her common sense soon, he hoped.

"...Y'know, Feenie, my sister was wrong about you. You are good with women."

The defense attorney jumped a little when he heard a soft-spoken voice call from behind him with such a beautiful tone that it was hard not to be captivated by hearing that lovely voice alone. He turned his head a little to prove to himself that it was not her. Even though the cute pet name "Feenie" made it too obvious to who it was since he would never forget that nickname used by his former one and only childhood sweetheart, someone he loved back when he was...sort of pathetic in a way.

His head whipped around behind him and he was quickly met by the familiar face of Iris Hawthorne, kind-hearted twin sister of the wolf in disguise named Dahlia Hawthorne, and he could have sworn that his heart had just about stopped when he met that pretty face. He hadn't seen Iris in so long that he had just now realised how much she had grown up to fit into her independent shoes of adsolence.

"I-I-I..." For once Phoenix was at a complete loss for words as they all got choked up in his throat. Iris looked even more beautiful than ever and her pretty blue eyes shined in the darkness that illuminated her form despite the fact that she wore a white hood that made her look mysterious even though her face was less than that.

Iris smiled sweetly at her former lover and seated herself beside him, making the older Phoenix Wright blush heavily as he tried to fight off a giddy grin from pure excitement of seeing the young nun again.

The dark-haired nun of the temple sat down next to Phoenix and she chatted with Trucy for a bit to help her out of her slight drunken state. Phoenix could barely believe it, she was just like the purest Rose blooming in the moonlight with no thorns to hinder its beauty whatsoever and was sweeter than beignets dribbled with the sweetest of honey dew.

Phoenix finally cleared his throat and actually forced some words to leave his voice box "I-Iris, its n-n-nice to see you a-again!"

Iris ceased talking to Trucy and looked at Phoenix.

Actually now she got a good look at the defense attorney, she could hardly believe she recognised her former boyfriend beneath that hobo disguise since he actually looked really different since those seven years had just sped by like a hawk flying to catch its prey.

Phoenix seemed so different and way calmer and mature than he was in his younger teenage years which he had dubbed his "crybaby" years. He had changed and grown up so much since then and it was beyond impressive that he had stuck out and stayed strong when nobody else had believed in him.

Phoenix gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck firmly to hide a nervous taint of crimson from reddening his cheeks "...I actually haven't seen ya since that incident at the first Hazakura temple, how've you been?"

Iris giggled. Clearly there were some things that would never change about her Feenie and she still adored him to pieces in all honesty. She simply responded with a kindly smile of her own.

"I have been good thank you, Feen-I mean Mr. Wright!" She replied even though she almost called Phoenix by her pet name for him.

She thought it would have been uncomfortable for the poor man if he had to recall the traumatic events her twin sister put her through so decided to not mention anything involving the girl he once knew as "Dollie". She couldn't make Phoenix suffer because of her past mistakes.

Iris smiled when a certain little two year old approached the two, huge eyes sparkling innocently as her lips pulled into a huge smile. Bella practically bounced up and down with her stubby fingers intertwined whilst her laced hands were held up against her little chest as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her heels.

"Sister Iris, what are you doing with mister hobo and the magic lady?" She asked in a cute, high pitched voice.

Iris blushed but couldn't help but suppress a simple giggle as she turned her attention away from the little baby resting in the basket and to the conscientious two year old girl as she stroked the top of the little girl's light brown hair which had been tied up in a nice bun and Iris told the child in the kindest voice she could manage as to try and not let her voice betray her own feelings towards the Ace attorney "Oh! Mr. Wright and I were just having a small talk, Bella, nothing really..."

However, judging from the persistent and suspicious look in her eye, Bella didn't seem satisfied with the given answer and pressed on with her glassy eyes getting bigger and bigger as they filled with this charmingly innocent stare. She gave a cute little grin whilst smiling adoringly at the pair.

A moment of awkward silence passed and then Bella's eyes brightened up in recognition "Wait a second..." She smiled even wider as her stare grew even bigger "Are you that Mister Nick whom mama and Mystic Maya speak of?"

Phoenix said nothing since he had a vague idea of where this was going. This chat seemed to familiar and nobody could deny that Bella shared a lot with Pearls. Before any sort of answer could be given, however, Bella exclaimed in a merry sing-song tone of voice as she grabbed Iris' hand and proceeded to lead her away "Ooh! I understand, you're Mister hobo's special somebody~"

They tried to deny it but Bella already had her mind set on the whole romance deal as she chatted about them buying a house, getting married, having babies and basically having a story book life that could only be imagined by a two year old little girl whom always loved to read such fine tales that were mostly made by Misty Fey, under her guise as Elise Deauxnim.

It seemed that Bella had inherited a lot from her mother!

Like daughter like mother, I suppose...

Phoenix watched with a simple smile as Iris was taken away by the little girl and he then found his attention grabbed when Luna, Star and Kazam approached him with heavy, tired expressions on their faces and they looked like they could just topple to the floor at any moment if they stayed up much longer.

He immediately knew what the problem was and he asked them gently "Its time for beddy bies, isn't it?" he chuckled softly despite the loud music booming in the background as the twins both nodded in simultaneous motion and Kazam simply plopped down to the floor in exhaustion. Clearly the children were dog tired and needed to go to sleep sooner or later and he knew he couldn't do this on his own.

The ace attorney scooped up both Alakazam and Star into his arms and carried them both down a corridor whilst Trucy had decided to assist her adoptive father with this task and carried Luna close behind as they walked along the hallways to get into a guest bedroom so they could allow the children to sleep the night away and prepare for anything that may come their way.

Phoenix had settled Kazam into bed and planted a loving kiss on his forehead whilst Trucy was busy tucking in the remaining children, especially Star as she quickly succumbed to her exhaustion and she mumbled sleepy nonsense as sleepily and heavily closed her eyes to drift off to sleep.

The silhouettes of the Ace attorney children stretched across the pitch black room as the faint shapes of the kids were sort of easy to make out as them and the defense attorney and the budding magician gently closed the door with a softest, compassionate of grins as the door left a small creak of a noise before closing with a gentle shut.

When the two adults were satisfied with the children being put to bed, Phoenix and Trucy walked back down along the corridor to retreat back towards the party Maya had started.

They knew that the master spirit medium was only doing this to keep everyone's spirits alive and they had to admit that it was a nice idea but it may have been too risky a move to make on their part. They both decided to release their worries and gave the nurse maids the best advice they could give:

Keep a sharp eye on the kids.

"C'mon, Daddy," Trucy slurred a little, finally snapping herself out of her drunken state and wrapped a caring arm around Phoenix's neck and shoulder "We've got a party to get back to..."

Phoenix gave a single nod but he felt like things were far from over. Whatever was to come their way, may it be an obstacle or a simple trial, they would have to know that this adventure was far from finished and that this was just the beginning of their problems.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, guys.**

**It seems that Maya had sorted out a little party and Phoenix had a small chat with Iris. What else will happen and will something happen to make things collapse in on itself to spin things out of proportion?**

**...Maybe.**

**It also seems we get a bit of Deja vu with Pearl's daughter, Bella!**

**Please review, guys!**

**-Chloemcg**


	21. Not a Bella Notte

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Pearl walked alone in the dank, darkened halls leading towards a certain room she would normally tend to avoid at all costs if she could help it.

The young woman spirit medium with the pretzel-shaped hair kept her eyes to the floor and her ears open as the only thing that could accompany her in this dark corridor was the clicks of her own footsteps.

It took her awhile to muster up this courage in order to do this.

She didn't really want to see what this cunning dragoness had up her sleeve in order to trick her again. Pearl's blood boiled whenever she recalled those horrid instructions her mother gave her whenever she had came to visit her to unknowingly take part in killing her cousin. How dare that woman do that, using a little girl for your own gain for some family revenge was and always is wrong beyond so many levels!

For whatever reason, Pearl found herself scowling at a chained metal door that rested underneath a torchlit light on the ceiling. She hated that door since it was the room of isolation that had contained the woman who had given her life, her mother...

When she reached the foot of it, she reached forwards and grabbed hold of a metal slab that could show the inside of Morgan Fey's room and she slid it open to get a view of her mother whom sat at a round table in contentment as she sipped a foamy broth from a metal miniature version of an oil drum. She sat in complete darkness except for the moonlight rays beaming behind her from a nearby window.

Pearl growled at the silhouette of the woman.

"...Hello, mother." Pearl tried not to allow her blood to boil even further as she wore a scowl on her face.

The woman in question turned around at the sound of her daughter's voice and looked towards them with a sly glint in her eyes that resembled that of a cunning vixen whom had been plotting a few things. The smug smirk she wore across her lips didn't help in the least as her thick, blackened brows narrowed over her eyes.

"Ah, my dear little Pearl..." She chuckled and hung her head with a creepy smile "Come to your senses and finally realised that 'Mystic Maya' is undeserving of her title?"

Pearl's scowl deepened and she clenched her fists. How dare she say that about Maya! She would have kicked the door but she couldn't allow that slippery attitude of hers to get to her and she growled from the deepest pit of her throat possible "Silence!"

Her innocent eyes were trained on her mother who didn't move in the least yet she could still sense that smug vibe coming off her, a very sadistic aura that smelt like that of an insane lunatic who craved for hearing a knife slash against a victim's chest and hearing the sound of their blood pouring and painting the floor and walls in a canvas of crimson. Morgan grinned a little more and she tapped her knees subconsciously in a random slapping session.

"...Anyways," Pearl continued, regaining her calm composure "I have a feeling that you are somehow involved with Mr. Nick's predicament."

Morgan finally looked back up at her daughter but she still wore that crazed grin on her crackly painted lips and had that same look in her eyes that resembled that of a snake hunting for potential prey. She seemed interested to hear more.

Pearl gladly obliged to that "They have been chased, and still are being chased with a huge amount of money placed in their capture. They are worlds' most wanted now and I have been feeling a disturbing presence that brings unease to both me and I am certain Mr. Nick feels the same." Her scowl turned into the deepest of glares "And I have a suspicion that YOU have something to do with that, mother!"

Morgan paused as if taking in all this information. When she processed all of this she grinned even wider and her entire face had "evil" written all over it.

Pearl saw that expression in the darkness. She was right, her mother did do something to assist the enemies somehow from her cell! How could she though, wasn't she supposed to be confined in her chambers until she is more stable? She couldn't work with them otherwise, in fact she wouldn't even know them. What did she do?

She rubbed at her wrists and pulled her sleeves up to expose her fists as if to get ready for a fight. She seemed to be ignoring the door separating them both but she didn't really care for that right at the moment. The young mother with the Kurain spirit channelling technique gritted her teeth and grabbed at the slab in a fit of rage and yelled in a demanding tone of voice, her face turning red.

"What did you do!?"

Morgan just sat there in silence and took another calm sip of her foamy drink. She didn't seem the least bothered by her daughter's fury and despite the conditions, she was way too cooperative and spoke in a somewhat sly manner. It was as if this was apart of her revenge scheme. She cast a demonic glare towards a nearby wall, refusing to speak.

After that slight pause Morgan spoke again "...I will not say." She grinned back to Pearl "But if I were you, I would spend less time worrying on trivial matters and more on little Bella."

Pearl felt all the colour drain from her face and she released the slab. What did her mother mean by that and why should she worry about her daughter? Bella was alright from the many times she had seen her earlier that day and...

She was now shaking as she stared wide eyed the woman and her voice was quivering "W-What did you do to my daughter?!"

Morgan said nothing but sat there with that evil grin on her face. She watched as Pearl turned around to run back to the hall where everyone else was partying but decided to stop her before that happened "I wouldn't dream of ruining the surprise, child,"

Her smirked deepened and her eyes narrowed into slits "but I will tell you this: Prepare to be the new master of this temple."

Pearl gasped. Mystic Maya was in danger of dying possibly because of her mother tricking her little daughter to take part in a little plot and thus blaming everything on her! Bella needed to be tossed out of the line of fire and fast before something else happened!

Without saying another word Pearl dashed off down the corridor so she could reach the party before she was too late. Bella was innocent. Morgan had been conspiring with organisation Z.E.R.O for who knows how long and she used her granddaughter as a means to get Pearl to be the master of the Kurain village but since she was old enough to make her own judgments, she feared that her mother would move targets and make Bella the leader instead so she could control her...

Pearl couldn't condone her daughter to unknowingly kill Mystic Maya, but what could she do to stop it?

What was Morgan doing this for?

* * *

Meanwhile in the new party hall, everyone was having a jolly time as they danced together underneath the spinning disco ball which shone some lights all over the room via reflection.

Everyone adored dancing together and never wanted much less to make themselves feel better than right now. They were all happy to be rid of the worry and turmoil sent through their systems from that accursed letter and the bounty being dropped on their heads.

They needed a break.

The Ace attorney heroes all danced simultaneously on the stage under a huge spotlight and they danced to the musical song with a catchy beat named Timber which had been sung by Ke$ha, clutching some microphones in their hands and singing into the mics that heightened the volume they were singing at while they moved their feet individually.

The group were very much blissfully unaware that the happy atmosphere was just about to come crashing down...

"Its goin' down, I'm yelling Timbeeer! You better move, you better dance~"

Apollo, Trucy, Athena and Phoenix all sang the chorus whilst grinning towards the audience whom were cheering for more. Apollo winked down towards Juniper who stood in the front row of the crowd who blushed a feverish pink and tried to cutely cover it up. They were all so happy and merry and felt like nothing could bring their mood down since they felt like they were on top of the world.

The group sung the song in unison despite the bags beginning to appear beneath their eyes and jumped about on stage energetically without any signs of tiring. It was a complete wonder, admittedly, how they could store this energy despite the trauma they've been through.

"Lets make a night you won't remembeeer, I'll the one you... won't forget~"

Finally, with the last ounce of strength they could summon from the bottom of their lungs, they finished singing with a flashy twirl on the spot and they wagged their hips happily in time with the upbeat tune and melody of the song. They took three steps forwards and one step back as they moved around with a musical swing in their step, looking really pumped and determined from the good time they were having.

"Whoooooo-oooo, Whoooooo-oooo...~"

They finished with a high five to each other and they basked in the following uproar they got from their performance.

They all hopped off the stage and went to seat themselves down on some benches so they could take a breather and take some of the air back into the air that they had lost in that performance. Apollo took Juniper by the hand to help her sit down as well since she was still a little tired from the "getting over the flu thing" from earlier and he didn't want to cause her unnecessary injury since that would make him feel bad for her.

When they did managed to find somewhere to sit, Athena instantly began to wolf down a burger that she had ordered a minute prior and Juniper did the same as they started devouring their meals. Juniper smiled happily as she chewed the cooked version of a sandwich and asked whence she swallowed "Oh goodness, Mr. Wright! Who ordered these burgers? These are scrumptious!"

Phoenix didn't say a word since he recalled that Athena's daughter, Luna, had ordered those with his money (without any permission) and it would probably take all the money he had ever amassed during his career to pay for it all.

He really needed to find a way to punish Luna or at least pay her back for that since Athena found it too funny to deliver unto her any form of punishment. Athena did discipline her daughter once in awhile but only on rare occasions.

Phoenix and the gang sat on the table and Athena decided to ask, looking around for the hostess for the party as she done so, while picking up a small tea cup and rubbing her thumb along the finely polished china that made the piece of fragile glass and pottery "Hey, guys, have you seen Maya anywhere?"

That was a good query, actually!

Maya had been led away to go grab some more items by a certain little girl; Bella Fey to be more specific.

They watched Maya as she was led away towards the wine cellar in tow of the little two year old girl who had a somewhat saddened look on her chubby little face as she stared into space with this distant look in her eyes as she pulled the master spirit medium away.

Trucy shrugged in response as she lowered her brows when she too began to scan the place for Maya "...You're right, Athena! I can't see her."

Juniper joined in the conversation "What? I thought I saw Mrs. Fey get led somewhere with that little girl."

They all nodded although they felt like something was the matter. Phoenix especially felt an uneasy tension in the air that hung over them like a wet blanket.

He couldn't ignore that presence in the air since it had been lingering in his mind and taking the occasion chomp of all possibilities that flowed within his mind and without it like a stream without debris or obstruction. It would be needless to say that this bothered the ace attorney to the point where he would occasionally scratch at his spiky scalp.

The group didn't know what to do as they stared at each other as if they were trying to decipher what each other's faces read.

However suddenly everyone had stopped celebrating when Pearl weaved through the crowd with this desperate intent in her movements and her face was ghostly pale and her breathing seemed heavy as she panted through a heavy pair of nostrils and her legs were ready to give out under her.

The pretzel-haired adult spirit medium panted heavily as she stood doubled over to touch her aching knees. She finally looked up and she was the whitest of white could be in the face.

Trucy stood up and hastened to Pearl's side to see what the matter was and she bent down to meet her eye-to-eye and she asked in a soft voice "Pearly, what's the matter? You look all flustered..." She rubbed her back to try and comfort her and encourage her to speak her mind and say what was the matter.

Pearl panted heavily as her lungs burned for oxygen. She had ran all the way here to prevent something bad happening to both Mystic Maya and her beloved little baby girl. She tried to speak but she was gasping heavily for air whenever she opened her mouth to try to speak. She had to save her child!

"B-B-Bella...M-M-M-M-Mystic...Maya!" She exclaimed through heavy pants of breathlessness "Wh-W-Where are they!?" She looked up and looked all around her in a frenzy and panic as her heart and lungs burned from the intense running she had just done in her rush to get down here.

Trucy was surprised when Pearl propelled herself up straight and as she did a huge shriek howled through the air and was carried along with the gusts of wind that blew passed them in a swift blast that rendered mostly everyone silent but Phoenix and the others actually got kicked into high gear a second after hearing about it.

There was no mistaking it, that was Maya's scream!

Everyone managed to get their feet moving and they dashed down stairs into the cellar where the noise came from and when they reached the bottom of the stairs, their hearts were on a complete standstill as they saw the grizzly sight that beheld them.

Just above an open window hanging above (explaining the breeze blowing into the building so suddenly) there was a bit of blood was staining some plastering on the thick concrete walls and Maya was propped up against the walls, a streak of blood just above her head, as she laid there unconscious and out cold. Luckily her chest was raising up and down to tell them that she was alive and Phoenix was more than thankful for that fact to see his friend okay.

But that wasn't the most scary thing. No, far from it!

Standing right beside Maya's body, quaking from fright with tears welling up inside her large eyes, Bella held a glass bottle in her fist and she was cowering in a corner while giving small squeaks of fright as she was obviously afraid of something or someone.

Pearl was mostly taken in by this and her entire world was on standstill as she nor anyone else dared to move a leg since this scene was too startling for anyone...

"Bella, baby..." She gasped in disbelief. She was filled with conflicting emotions towards her frightened little girl and she wanted to go over and hug her but was too scared to move from the fact that her cousin was out cold on the floor.

A little girl clasping a bottle with an unconscious adult lying on the floor with some bleeding coming from the head even though the source of the blood was hidden by Maya's charcoal black hair was definitely a bad sign.

Bella whimpered with fright as she released her hold on the heavy empty glass bottle and it dropped to the wooden floor with a "smash" that left an echo that lingered that seemingly lasted for hours throughout the new Hazakura temple.

"...This is bad." Athena finally said.

* * *

**A/N: Whoo! Morgan returns and poor Pearl must be going through turmoil right now that her poor little girl had been tossed into a line of fire such as this. Now it is up to Phoenix and the others to find out what really happened here.**

**Will poor Bella be the suspect of this assailant to Maya? Will everything work out alright?**

**Find out!**

**This is "The bridge to Turnabout" all over again!**

**-Chloemcg**


	22. The rage within

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

That night was very rough for our Ace attorney heroes.

While Maya was thankfully alive, she still suffered a major concussion from that blow to the head and had a bit of memory loss. Bella seemed to have been the culprit even though she was only at the delicate age of two years old. Everyone was both surprised and devastated by this sudden spiral of events!

Pearl was especially devastated by her little daughter's involvement.

Everyone felt really bad for her, she was constantly apoligizing to her that this happened even though it wasn't even her fault. They eventually discovered that Pearl's deciptful mother played some part in this with the same spiteful intent to kill Maya she always harboured because of some petty grudge.

Phoenix took up the case and decided to defend the little two year old girl whilst Juniper (having past experience as she had been a judge before her pregnancy) volunteered to preside over this trial since Bella's future rested on their shoulders.

If she was proven guilty then she would be banished from the village and temple without a moments hesitation and Pearl wouldn't be allowed to acompany her little daughter since the people of the Kurain channelling technique were forced to stay hidden within the boundaries of the temple unless it was a total emergency.

However, proving Pearl's claim wasn't going to be easy. Athena couldn't sense any feelings whatsoever in Morgan's voice, no doubt she was controlling her emotions really well. Luna and Star couldn't hear or sense anything either considering their heightened senses of hearing and ability to read emotions especially well. Apollo couldn't percieve any nervous tic or a habit because Morgan had made herself stick to the shadows which disabled him to see her let alone perceive any habits. Lastly, Phoenix couldn't use his Magatama on her for the same reason.

It was a dead end basically...

Apollo and Athena had been left in charge of investigating the case but Apollo had been left with the task of thinking about the trial the next day whilst Juniper gathered her thoughts to preside over the trial so Athena insisted that she gone and looked over the crime scene whilst the former stayed in the training hall and thought about things.

The young man sat on a bench while he stared down at his lap, pondering about what kind of father he would be. His father died when he was little so he didn't have anyone to teach him how to be a good father to his own flesh and blood, much to his dismay. Would he make a good role model? He sighed tiredly. He was exhausted from all the events that took place last night.

He found himself tiredly mumbling the melody of "A guitar's serenade" even though the timing was off and the lyrics were going all over the place and he was tripping over his words numerous times.

He closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep since he decided to get some shut eye so he could be ready for the trial tomorrow.

Sugar, sugar...oh sweet nice of you're embrace..." Apollo moaned, his head lowering as he closed his eyes and drool leaked from one side of his mouth and dripped on to his red velvet trousers.

Apollo blearily followed his opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps gaze and was stupefied to discover Simon standing over the both of them, giving them both a small smirk as if to taunt them.

"Well, well...It would appear that we have both crossed paths once more, Justice-dono?" Simon smirked down to the pair whilst Apollo was still registering the fact that the "twisted Samurai" and his most equal rival was standing before him. His mind was weighing heavily with sleepiness after all.

Apollo sat up in alarm, straightening his back "O-oh, Prosecutor Blackquill!" He exclaimed "Wh-What are you doing in here?"

The man touched his chin and scratched at it wearily. He knew what he was doing in here, since he had entered here on his own free will. But he couldn't ignore that added bonus here that had presented itself moments ago! This was a fine opportunity...

With a flick of his coat and a twist of his neck, Blackquill held out a blade towards the defense attorney "I have come to hone my blade and challenge you to combat, of course."

Apollo was totally lost. What was the guy talking about? he didn't know anyone else in the room with the expert skills to swing a blade around with such flawless precision and movements as it weaved through the air like a blow in the breeze. But then the word "you" sank in and he found himself tumbling off the bench and falling to the floor and, the next thing he knew, he laying on his stomach as he laid on the floor whilst trying to get over the shock of what he had just heard.

Blackquill continued to look down at Apollo with a smirk and made no effort to help him up.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Whhhhaaaaat!? You want me to spar with you, r-right now!?" Apollo yelled aloud, his Chords of steel blasting at full volume. All signs of drowsiness had been erased from his voice as he tried to scramble to his feet post-haste. It took a while of slipping on his own two feet but he eventually got there, accidentally drowning out the little voice in his head and the sound of shattering windows he possibly caused by that sudden outburst until he stood back up.

"I can't fight now when I'm in the middle of thinking over a trial!"

After saying this, his sleepiness returned and his face went long and drowsy and went to sit back down when Blackquill had an idea to motivate the man to come at him. He managed to cut Apollo off from his bench and weaved the sword skilfully through the air, his face taunting.

"Oh but you must fight me, Justice-dono, if you want to protect you're darling wife..."

Suddenly Apollo felt really scared about what the older man was doing.

"...Wait, what?"

He watched cautiously as Simon sheathed the blade of his katana and pointed it at Apollo whilst he wore a sadistic grin that looked like it would never would be wiped off his ghostly pale mug. He narrowed his eyes towards his opponent and Apollo slowly backed off, his palms held up in a poor attempt at self defense and he asked as slowly and calmly as he could "What are...you doing?" He glared somewhat sternly and he frowned "put the sword down please, Blackquill."

However Simon didn't comply. He gently adjusted his hold on a small photo of Juniper he had somehow gotten his mitts on. He pointed the sword at the picture's and sliced it in half actually making Apollo grow angry out of the overprotective fatherly instincts to shield the love of his life from any harm that would possibly come to her.

Even though it was just a picture, an image of Juniper being cut down by Simon actually burned into his mind. It made him growl as he grew steadily angry with every second that passed.

Apollo's dark brown eyes narrowed whilst his pools glistened in this fiery anger while the two spikes standing on his head reflected that anger with this certain glint that matched the shine of a sword as they both glimmered in this mirroring light hanging overhead.

He could feel the frozen beat of his heart slam against his rib cage despite being non existent. He decided to try and be nice one last time to avoid an actual dual.

He extended his arm forwards and his palm was open to take the sword away "Simon, I don't want to fight you." but Simon, despite this, had jumped backwards and skidded on his feet across the slippery oak flooring.

Simon challenged as he slowly backed away, a somewhat sadistic smirk crossing his ghostly white lips.

"...You want to protect you're wife and child?" The samurai pointed the katana blade to the red attorney at law "Come at me, then."

Without really thinking it over, Apollo grabbed a Bo staff from a stand and rushed at Simon but the samurai easily blocked it and forced Apollo to jump back, holding his stick in the air as he landed on his own two feet with his face bearing a scorn so unfathomably deep.

He breathed for a moment, gaining a bit of momentum before he pivoted on the balls of his feet and he once again rushed at him and attempted to slam his staff down upon his foe even though Simon flashed a confident grin as he raised his katana towards the overprotective, attorney at law father-to-be whom was clearly willing to prove Simon wrong and that he would be able to protect his beloved.

When Simon blocked the second blow attempted by Apollo, the young man used the fact that he was in the air to his advantage and used both feet to ram into the samurai's chest, sending Simon flying backwards and watched as he slammed straight into a wall.

Simon was unharmed as he had been very well adjusted to these sorts of battles.

Apollo dropped down on to one knee, twirling the Bo staff in his fingers behind him as he glared daggers at Simon.

He stopped twirling the stick and stood up before he began charging with the speed to match an angry bull, in fact; the fact that he had his horn-like spikes of hair drooped a little and his head was bent a bit made him really look like he was charging at him with the speed of a bull that would be pitted against bull fighters.

Apollo rapped his Bo staff whilst Simon was down on the ground and the samurai raised his katana, crooking his arm backwards to adjust he hold and avoid a father-to-be's bloodlust.

It was clear that he was suffering from a severe case of Bloodwrath, a mental condition that causes the afflicted to go absolutely berserk for a limited amount of time.

The Bloodwrath-possessed Apollo now envisioned Simon running a blade through Juniper's swollen abdomen, causing a pool of blood to spill out. She felled to the floor with a heavy thud and this image was enough to make a redness taint his brown orbs.

Simon wouldn't dare hurt Juniper, he knew that, but for some reason he was like a kettle that was steaming heavily at the spout -whistling loudly and angrily.

Simon gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes into slits and he attempted to drag the young man out of his impulsive rage since Bloodwrath such as this could make someone forget the difference between friends or enemies and he couldn't allow Apollo to be consumed by this.

"Justice-dono!" He yelled sternly through his gritted teeth, his voice hollow and actually very convincing as it managed to grab the man's attention "You need to calm yourself...I wouldn't dare harm your wife!" He continued to have his blade firmly pressed against the stick and his the blade in his hand actually began to quake from the pressure between the two weapons.

Apollo's reddened, bloodshot eyes softened a little bit as if he was actually allowing himself to absorb those words. The anger appeared to have been pulsating through his veins with a malicious intent as he was eagerly pumped to actually do some serious damage. He breathed heavily and quickly as he tried to regain some self-control, bullets of sweat dribbling down his face and making his thorns of hair droop a bit from guilt.

He narrowed his eyes once more, gave a running side step and swiftly jabbed the Bo staff under the katana blade and managed to force the sword out of Simon Blackquill's pale hand so the weapon of choice had been flung into the air until it plummeted back down to earth and the cutting edge sunk into the ground as the sharp piece of metal pierced it with simple ease.

After doing this, Apollo finally dropped the Bo staff with a heavy "clank" as the unusually heavy sound of wood falling to the ground to make a tapping sound had sounded like a mere gust of gentle wind that blew in his ear. He panted heavily and hardly as he took a shaky step back followed by another, and another.

What had he just done...? What was happening to him!?

"...What was happening? What was I-?!" He was completely beside himself with shock of what had just happened. He couldn't feel anything when he was in that state but he couldn't think and felt an impulsive rush of rage flow directly through his mind. He could feel nothing psychical but everything emotional. He stared down at his hands as if he was disgraced to have them in the first place but he didn't get it, he never even wielded a Bo staff before!

It was like his mind had been twisted into one of a serial killer, like he could see directly into the mind of a murderer and lose complete control of himself with his negative emotions fueling it!

His eyes were bulging from their sockets as he wiped a sleeve across them, feeling the sting they suddenly emitted from the sudden rush of adrenaline that wracked his body and pilgrim-aged his soul.

Simon too got up to his feet and slowly walked back to the bench with Apollo silently, not saying a word to each other.

Apollo and Simon sat there in a disturbing silence as the former had been shuddering whilst hugging his arms and rubbing them to warm himself and to try and soothe his emotions. He couldn't say anything after what he had just done by nearly killing Simon.

Finally, after for what seemed like an eternity, Apollo spoke "I'm so sorry for almost killing you, Prosecutor Blackquill, but I couldn't contr-" but he was quickly cut off, much to his surprise.

"...No, don't feel remorse, Justice-dono! I just wanted to awake you since you seemed dreadfully tired and needed to get out of that."

Apollo was confused by Simon's words and his eyes widened in confusion "Huh?"

Simon decided to simplify what he was talking about.

He patted Justice's shoulder supportively in a brotherly way and grinned an encouraging grin to him as he explained "Even though I am the prosecution of this case-" he held a blade to Apollo's neck "-and don't tell anyone I said this or I shall have your neck-" Apollo nodded worriedly in agreement and Blackquill removed the small blade "but I do not believe that Bella-chan was responsible for this, I do believe she was used as a pawn for something much bigger, though..."

Apollo was surprised to hear this. Simon Blackquill, the crowned-expert of the "power of suggestion" technique, actually had faith in the defendant?! This was beyond surprising since he felt his heart just stop dead in his chest when those words reached his ears. In fact, he almost dropped dead from the mere shock.

He didn't dare ask for a repeat since he knew that by saying that, Simon had a shred of his pride vanish. Apollo sighed heavily as he mentally told himself that Juniper and his baby was fine, nothing would hurt them. Ever.

Simon sighed and hung his head in shame "I only threatened your wife because you needed a bit of motivation, effective but not clever..."

Apollo managed a small but heartfelt smile as he looked at Simon. The guy had good intentions and that was a good reason to forgive and forget "...Its okay. Good luck, Simon; I know you'll do fine tomorrow." He winked at him as he stared back at the wall for no reason.

He actually had a bit of worry flash within those dark brown pools that bore the proud title of "the window of the soul". His corneas were tainted a dark pink-red probably from the rage he had just gone through and he seemed very shaken by it but he seemed to have been trying to hide the huge amount of disbelief pulsing through him.

Before Simon could ask what was bothering him, however, a very familiar peppy voice sounded eagerly "Oh, Appppppoooooollllloooo!"

It sang and left a small ring in both of their ears but Simon smirked with a kind delight when hearing that voice he loved to hear ever since he was but a young man. He could not suppress a small chuckle as he saw Athena dash into the room with a cheerful smirk on her face, it was like she was hyped and ready to go "C'mon, I found something you might like to see in the crime scene!"

Apollo snapped out of his train of deep thought upon hearing his name and smiled eagerly towards his cohort.

He shook off the shock he may have felt within and stood up, gently reaching down and returning his little sleeping daughter into the basket she was originally supposed to have been sleeping in before any of this happened.

He leaned forwards and pecked Petal's tiny forehead before smiling softly at her, his eyes kind and compassionate. He stood up straight and left the training hall but he seemed very distant and somewhat cryptic... He stumbled around a bit but mumbled something about Simon keeping an eye on Juniper with his back turned.

There was a hint of desperation in his voice and Apollo let out a pained groan as he leaned against the door frame while seemingly pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to cover up a throbbing headache that thudded against his skull, banging against it like a drum. He growled quietly as if in pain but when Athena tried to ask him what was wrong and reach her arm towards him, Apollo simply raised his voice a little even though pure fear was lacing his every word "I-I'm fine!...I'm perfectly fine..."

He muttered that last "I'm fine" lowly in a growl as he walked through the open door and disappeared into the darkness, actually taking the lead when it was Athena supposed to be doing that.

Athena flashed a look of pure concern to Simon whom wore a look of pure stone even though his eyes were shielded by the long mops of hair he called a fringe. He couldn't deny that he knew that something was seriously wrong with Apollo but he did nod to his charge as if to tell her to follow him and keep a sharp eye on him which she had apparently read when she returned the nod and hastened after her wobbly friend.

Simon was left alone in the room with Petal and he looked down at her tiny form, sound asleep. The twisted samurai sighed heavily and reached a hand down to stroke her whilst he asked nobody in particular yet he had a distant look in his eye. He couldn't help but feel concerned for that boy, or young man. It was like he had closely bonded with all who worked under Phoenix Wright as they had become like family to him right along with Athena, whom had always been like a sister to him after he had begun working under Metis Cykes.

However Simon was snapped from his deep thought when he heard a screech sound from above and he looked up to discover his feathered friend, looming over them like a shadow. Taka lightly hovered down from his perch above and landed on his master's shoulder, allowing the affectionate finger to stroke his little neck. The hawk seemed to have witnessed that little fight scene just now and this made Simon request something of his avian partner in crime as he whispered to him in a low voice.

Simon ceased stroking the hawk and Taka stared at his master wearily, intently listening to every word that left his master's lips "My friend, I need you to keep watch on Justice-dono. If you find anything regarding this bizarre behavior that he had just shown to me than place report back to me."

Taka gave a nod of his little head, his yellow hawk-like eyes giving a single sideways blink as he processed this order, and he took to the air once more to fly off and complete his task. He left with a screech and once again left Simon alone on that bench with the infant snoozing away beside him.

"Hmmm...what in the world is wrong?" He wondered aloud, unable to think of anything else.

* * *

**A/N: Wow that was an eventful chapter. It seems that Apollo is going through some rough things. He seemed to have had a moment of lost self control when it came down to his family... What could have happened to Apollo to make him so angry so suddenly, could it have just been overprotective fatherly instincts or could it have been something else?**

**It would seem before I can end this chapter, I have to set down a few things:**

**First off, Bloodwrath (I think) was just a made up mental condition which animals suffer in the awesome books of Redwall which was written by the late Brain Jacques and there's a television show which is equally awesome! I don't own that and it belongs to that awesome writer!**

**Second of all, I had the idea when reading the awesome Ace attorney fanfic "Clashing swords" which I think is awesome.**

**Third of all, if you would like a song to listen to towards the end of this then I recommend listening to the beginning of Linkin Parks Crawling - Reanimation - Krwlng - Remix. That is another thing that is awesome.**

**Final thing is a question for you guys: What do you think Kristoph planted in Junie's ear? You can guess if you'd like.**

**We do get more in the next chapter, lets see what happens!**

**Alright, thats all for now other than the fact that I HATE swearing, please don't use it in reviews please.**

**-Chloemcg**


	23. Lament of Apollo

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo and Athena wandered down the halls without saying a word to each other. They had been walking for minutes now and Apollo seemed to be really out of it for some reason ever since he had left the training arena with a somewhat heavy atmosphere following him wherever he gone.

Neither had said a word since they left to investigate the crime scene together so they could try and assist their boss in court the next day, knowing how tricky things could get without solid evidence to back up Bella's innocence and their theory that the poor little girl was set up for a trap.

Athena had noticed that Apollo was really heavy in the mood whilst she sensed a sense of guilt hanging over him like a soaking wet blanket left in the air to dry. They couldn't picture what would happen to the poor little girl, Bella Fey, if she were to be banished from the village and cast away, having nobody to take care of her despite her small age and having nothing but the clothes on her back.

The walls were dark, harrowing and dank as the duo slowly trailed through the dark chasms of corridors.

However Athena decided to break the ice as she finally spoke "Well, Apollo," she twirled a strand of her long ginger hair in her finger as she fiddled with it in a daydream "I wonder if there'll be any more kids in you're future."

Apollo didn't respond. He didn't stop walking but he did seem to hear her words since he just shrugged his shoulders loosely, uncertain of what his future would behold. However he did take a moment to pick himself up from this dark mood as he turned his head and smiled through weak, bloodshot eyes as he smiled with an equal amount of strength. He smiled at her as he told her with a very unnatural croaky tone of voice "I g-guess we'll have to wait and s-see..." He stammered a bit, a slight strained squeak in his voice.

Apollo seemed very sad for some reason, did he have a quarrel or something with Simon?

Athena didn't know but she was determined to find out!

Gently she approached the man with the two spikes of hair protruding from the top of his head, propping up proudly on his head full of fuzzy brown hair. Athena put a hand on Apollo's back and guided him to the end of the corridor so they could reach the chamber and go down to the cellar and investigate anything, anything at all, that could help their case the next day. She looked to her friend with her sapphire eyes flooded with compassionate concern for the Greek god-named man.

"Apollo, are you okay?" She asked.

Again the young man didn't answer. His deep brown eyes were glued to the floor beneath him but the fire of determination that seemed to have brimmed in those darker brown irises have seemed to have been extinguished.

Athena decided to speak up, her voice growing a stern edge to it "Apollo Justice, please talk to me!"

Still no answer.

Now Athena was beginning to lose her patience. Nobody ignores her and Apollo of all people shouldn't be shutting her out again, especially in what should be the greatest time of his life when he finally became a father! She actually took some action and decided to swiftly kick one of his kneecaps thus making Apollo topple over in surprise of the sudden action she had taken.

He fell heavily to the floor in shock, his expression now changed from down-hearted to surprise and confusion of what had just happened.

The red clad attorney at law had been snapped from his wallowing because of that swift jab in the knee!

Apollo didn't have any time to ask why Athena had done that since she just put a foot on his chest to pin him down to the floor and keep him there so she could tell him what she needed to in order to snap him from that grim mood. She glared down at him and gritted her teeth angrily, shadows being casted around her face due to the lack of lights in the hallways.

"Listen here, Apollo; I don't get you right now!" She started, gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes viciously while her face twisted in this intense rage "You're going to become a father, you should be over the moon right now, but nooo!" She bent down and poked him hard in the chest with a finger "you become all moody after a few minutes of spending time with Simon and soured the atmosphere with this moping!"

Apollo swallowed hard. He couldn't deny any of what Athena's been spouting. He simply listened intently to what she was saying without struggling beneath the painful heel of Athena's boot jabbing his stomach a bit.

Athena looked so angry that Widget's scowl had a nicer look in comparison but he paid no attention.

"I don't know what happened between you and him but snap out of it before I snap it out for you! You don't want to worry Junie with that attitude, do you!?" She finished chewing him out and began to pant heavily from how intense of a rush that was for her emotions.

The pair were silent, unable to mutter anything else after that.

The only sounds in that hall after the outburst was the heavy, oh-so heavy pants of Athena as she tried to regain her calm composure. She seemed upset that her friend would be self-pitying himself at a time like this. He needed to be strong for his family now, like how she was being strong for her girls.

Apollo took a moment to reflect on his actions and realized quite quickly that she was correct. He had to be diligent for Juniper and his unborn child! He had to force himself through it even though he was still hopelessly confused about that anger fit he had experienced during his sparring session, he didn't think it was just his parental instincts kicking into high gear but what could it be other than that? That was the mystery stressing his brain at the moment but it really should be focused towards Bella's case.

He drew in a deep breath before exhaling through his nostrils, feeling the warm air tickle his upper lip as it had been released into the free air flowing around them. He sat up whence Athena had got her boot off of his chest and he slowly climbed to his feet to stand up properly.

Apollo smiled a little when he patted Athena's shoulder, thanking her "Sorry about that, Athena, I guess I just needed a smack back into reality."

Athena smiled back when she sensed no more of that discord that had flooded within his heart. She didn't know what happened to him to make him so pitiful but he seemed to have been back in the game now so didn't need her to worry about him anymore; he appeared to have been back to his loud, admirably bold self!

Apollo fist pumped confidently, the fiery determination returning to his eyes, igniting this stoic bravery within them. "Alrightie Japan, here comes Justice!" He exclaimed before dashing down the hallway with a reckless aura radiating from his soul. He seemed like a superhero ready to take on the world now! That was the Apollo Justice she knew!

However he needed to calm down his eager ego before he could improve anymore it seemed. She extended her arm out in front of her to try and stop Apollo "Hey, wait for me!"

With that she gave chase after the comb-headed young man with speed that rivaled her partner and she appeared to be nothing but a yellow and blue blur to passerby's if they were any to begin with. The duo ran off towards the crime scene with a ignited flame in their eyes and a fire in their hearts.

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**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter. I have just been trying to update once again today since I'm starting school next week. I want to get as many chapters up before then so I could get this story finished with even if that may take awhile. I'm proud of this right now, though!**

**I have to ask, which is your fav part of the story so far? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's fine.**

**It seems that Apollo and Athena had yet another pep talk and are now ready to go once again. Lets see what happens during their investigation! :D**

**Please review and I'll update!**

**-Chloemcg**


	24. What is faith of the heart?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo wasn't sure what he'd find in the crime scene with Athena. He knew that the people of Hazakura temple wouldn't dare tamper with the crime scene so it would be left just the same as it was despite the fact that Phoenix and Trucy had already paid a visit to the scene of the crime.

However, upon reaching the cellar of the temple, two certain young girls had met both Apollo and Athena there with huge grins on their lips.

Athena was very surprised, needless to say "G-Girls, what are you doing here!?"

Luna and Star simply walked up to their adopted mother with the same bounce in their steps. They were clearly very eager to help even though Apollo and Athena were dead set against letting two young girls help in a crime scene for reasons that they probably wouldn't understand.

The twins gave their mother and Apollo the sweetest smiles. Star exclaimed joyfully "We would like to help you with the crime scene!"

Athena and Apollo didn't know what to think after hearing this. Should they, in their right minds, let two little girls help them with the crime scene? Athena's mind was screaming no to the idea whilst Apollo thought it may be a good idea for them to come along since they were training to become lawyers themselves when they got older.

That and their powers may come in handy.

Athena folded her arms grumpily across her chest while glaring at her twin girls authoritatively "Luna and Star Cykes, you were supposed to stay in the bedroom!"

The twins merely shook their heads stubbornly. This was an utter surprise, Luna and Star were actually not following their mother's orders despite the fact that she could be really scary when raging mad! They were usually so obedient and loyal to Athena but now they were being disobedient which was very unusual.

Apollo decided to have a go in dissuading the girls before Athena blew up in her daughter's faces in fury. He got down on his knees to meet them both at eye level and he told them in a surprisingly soft voice "Guys, I know you want to help Bella but this will be too dangerous for you." He gave them a stern glare "You can't just go and look at the crime scene by yourselves!"

Athena jumped back into the scolding match to try and get her daughters to follow orders "Yeah, what he said!" She now wore a dark scowl on her usually light face "You could get hurt or find scary things there, do you want to see that?"

Star and Luna now looked uncertain. They looked at each other for a moment or two as they tried to discern the looks on each others faces but then looked back at Apollo and their mother with fearlessness written all over their faces. Star looked a bit more timid than Luna but she still looked braver than normal.

Athena gasped when she sensed the emotions running through her daughter's hearts.

Both Luna and Star seemed to have been partially afraid but they also had a slight joy in their hearts that matched the flames in their own. Whatever anger she had before melted away in that instant and she dropped down on her knees and threw her arms around Luna and Star before reeling them in close into her embrace.

The red haired woman smiled as she closed her eyes and nuzzled both her adopted girls with pride making her own heart swell. She could feel the twins both smile sweetly as they hugged her back and joy radiated from their hearts, they both had equally big ones. While Athena was hugging the girls out of pure pride, she whispered to them compassionately "I'm so proud of you both..."

However Apollo was completely lost as he stood from behind and watched the scene in sheer confusion. His facial expression was drowning in confusion as he just stared at the three girls with wide eyes that swam with a unusual mix of hopeless confusion and perplexity since he didn't expect this sudden warm change of atmosphere.

"Um..." He began awkwardly, twiddling his thumbs "What's going on here?" He was even more confused "Why are you happy all of a sudden?"

Athena stood up and nodded down to her twin daughters with a smile but she told Apollo at the same time "...Because they are going to come with us to the crime scene."

Apollo opened his mouth to object but saw the adorable gleam shimmering within Star and Luna's irises. They looked so adorable that it was hard to say no to those sweet little faces and so he had to give into their charm and Athena's consent and he nodded too in agreement as he grinned at the pair of older girls.

"Oh, alright..." He sighed before eyeing them seriously "but stay close to us."

The two nodded in agreement, agreeing to keep their side of the bargain.

And with that the group of four went into the party hall but found themselves weighed down by a heavy tension in the atmosphere as those yellow police tapes laughed at the lawyers and lawyers-in-training and intimidated them a little bit as they sunk down a bit and their eyes wearily scanned their empty surroundings.

None of them could brush off that feeling of suspense and unknowing crushing them from the inside out as they felt the wind whispering in their ears.

It was as if there was someone behind them, stalking them and whispering to them to do awful things. Nobody could escape it and they decided to hurry to the scene and get this over with as they felt themselves break into severe cold sweats of fright.

The group once again hastened down the steps and they were hit in the face with a faint smell of blood and they found that things didn't look much different from the time when they discovered it, except that Bella and Maya had been removed from the scene to be taken care of until the trial the next day.

A cold, harrowing scent in the air also greeted the team.

Apollo swallowed roughly as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he put one shaky leg in front of the other to get a move on. He slowly approached the place where Maya's injured body was found and examined the bloodstained walls smearing the dark concrete walls whilst Athena and the girls separately went to search the crime scene individually.

Apollo stroked a cautious finger along the huge stain to investigate it, feeling an intense shudder run down his spine as he did so, and frowned when he felt a slight coldness to the dried up red liquid that made his blood run ice cold and he even sniffed it a bit to confirm that it was indeed blood to match that smell of blood lingering in the stale air.

It was indeed blood.

He pulled away from the stain from Maya's injured head and fiddled with his growing goatee in deep thought. What could have caused this kind of injury, it certainly couldn't have been that bottle alone...

"GAHHH!"

Apollo turned his head at the source of the scream and found that Luna was clutching on tight to Star whom had a shard of glass piercing the skin of her arm. Star had tears in her amethyst eyes as she stared frightfully down at her arm, more tears streaming down her face and dropping to the floor. Apollo and Athena rushed over to the girls and examined what had happened.

"Star what happened?!" Apollo asked whilst getting to his knees and grabbing the girl's arm while Athena pulled Luna aside and helped calm her down. Apollo noticed the shard of glass stuck in the poor girl's arm and saw the blood staining it as some of the oozing red liquid dripped to the floor below.

Star sniffed as she tried not to cry anymore fat tears of pain "I-I-I slipped on something a-a-and fell on to this glass b-bottle!" Her voice was panicky and matched the horrified expression on her paling face. Apollo felt really bad for the poor thing and decided to make this quick as he gave her an apologetic look before yanking out the sharp piece of glass from the young girl's arm.

She gave a small squeal that was a combination of pain and fear as Apollo pulled out the glass.

The man quickly found a piece of cloth and wrapped up Star's arm so she would stop bleeding. It done the trick, it seemed, and Apollo petted her head gently as he told her with a soft, kind voice "Its alright now, Star, you're fine, you're perfectly fine." He comforted her by pulling her close for a snug embrace to soothe her frightened whimpers and he rubbed circles on her back in order to do this.

Once she calmed down, Apollo helped the young girl back to her twin sister and they all got back to their investigation after Apollo had advised Athena to take her injured younger daughter to Aura (whom also acted as a scientific inspector in this case due to her smart mind and expertise with the law).

They all looked around again and discovered that poor Star had slipped on a small round pellet that was on the floor. However it was discovered to be a bullet, upon close examination.

Apollo examined the item in his palm "Well it seems that this was fired by someone at the scene...but it looks odd somehow." He mumbled to himself.

Athena approached her cohort curiously and examined the bullet in her friend's hand. "What's up, Apollo?"

The young man's face twisted in confusion. This bullet was really strange; even though this was solid proof that Bella wasn't the only one in the cellar last night and that the possibility of a third party was almost a certainty, there was an air that gave it a strange needless value. His brows thickened to paint an even more curious expression on his face "Hmmm, I don't know. This bullet makes me feel uneasy for some reason."

Athena read his mind "Yeah, even though this should prove a bit of Bella's innocence I too can sense an air about it." She frowned deeper "This would be too easy a trial if we were able to find out the refiling marks of this bullet."

"Mother, don't jinx it!" Luna cried out.

It was too late. This bullet may have made things take a bizarre turn but there was no doubt that there was little things to investigate and the broken bottle Bella had dropped had been taken off for analysis even though there were still a few fragments left over. Maybe there would be some merits in another method of investigation?

Apollo turned back and walked towards the stairs with a bold face. Knowing what he was thinking, Athena and the twins followed their leader with blank faces even though Star seemed to still be hurting a bit after that fall. Apollo frowned at the open air as he wandered back up the staircase with that fire of determination still lit within his heart and that kindle was still lit in his deep brown pools he called eyes.

Apollo smoothed back the twin spikes of hair planted atop his head and he felt his heart rate quicken a little when he thought of organisation Z.E.R.O hounding them. What would happen if they were found, he knew one thing if that were to ever happen:

He would defend his family and he wasn't talking about just Juniper and his child-to-be...

* * *

**A/N: Hmmm, the investigation is far from over. What is up with that bullet?**

**Time to talk to Bella regarding the crime she is being accused of and what will Star, Apollo, Luna and Athena uncover next? Will they find anything USEFUL before their time is up!? Can they find everything against this race against time?**

**Find out in the next chapter!**

**-Chloemcg**


	25. A touch of magic

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Alakazam sighed heavily as he stumbled down the halls so he could reach his destination, his cape hiding both his pudgy arms beneath which was sort of a good thing as he had wanted both his hands hidden for the moment as he had a surprise in store for the one he was going to visit.

He gave a slight flap of his lilac cape and continued to waddle towards the place he had been wanting to go to ever since he had heard about what had happened earlier that evening. It was daylight now, though, and he had also caught wind that it was going to be his grandfather defending the accused so he had been filled with confidence knowing that the infamous Phoenix Wright would be able to pull it off eventually.

His round eyes soon met with a certain cage that he had been looking for. He sighed sadly whence he noticed his best friend, Bella, inside it and she looked really sad and teary-eyed. It was like she had lost all faith in humanity.

The two year old boy stumbled towards the cage and his face brightened up the instant he saw her face "Hello, Bella!" He cheerfully exclaimed.

However the look he received was just opposite of his. He frowned instantly when he saw poor Bella looking like she had lost every shred of hope, sitting down in the cage looking big enough to contain a Labrador puppy as she kept her head low.

Bella Fey was usually so cheerful and extremely happy-go-lucky in attitude. It just wasn't like her to look so depressed! Luckily this was just the circumstance he had hoped this visit would cheer her up from.

So Kazam tried again "How are you doing?"

Bella didn't say a word but kept her head hung sadly. She fiddled with the grey Magatama hung around her neck, her legs giving into the kneel of devastation she had squatted in whilst trying to hide the slivers of tears streaking down her neck as she felt a throbbing sadness crack her from the inside out but she ignored everything else around her. She just wanted to distract herself from the ever-growing void of fear and despair that filled her mind.

It seemed as if she wasn't in the mood for idle conversation...

The pair of young children were silent as if neither of them knew what to say regarding this matter.

Kazam decided to cheer her up; what he came to do! He needed to help her after all!

He looked left and right to see if anyone was watching and grinned giddily when he narrowed his brows in determination and reached beneath his cape so he could reach for something. He had this sparkling excitement in his eye as he brought out an empty palm, confusing Bella, until he brought a hand behind his back and when he brought it out, a nine-tales flower was in his grasp and he handed it to the young girl.

Bella smiled finally and reached out to touch the flowers soft petals. Kazam grinned even wider when he saw her smile in return.

"I'm glad you like it, Bella!" He exclaimed cheerfully as he handed her the object he had managed to conjure up. He passed her the plant and Bella looked at her friend with tear-filled eyes yet she was smiling sweetly.

She stroked the nine petals lovingly and spoke in a meek, polite voice "T-Thank you, Alakizam." She mispronounced his name like that a lot because she was so young but it wasn't like Kazam minded in the least since it was pretty close the correct pronunciation of his name. He giggled happily, happy that he got her smiling again.

He put both hands behind his back and shuffled his feet nervously as he glanced down back and forth from her face and the floor beneath him "U-Um...you are welcome." If he wore his little silk top hat than he would have most definitely dipped it over his eyes to try and hide the fact that his chubby cheeks were beginning to be brighten to a visible shade of scarlet.

The two young children were silent for a few moments before Kazam started to speak about her confinement "Um...why are you in a dog cage?"

Bella sighed depressingly yet she continued to stroke the flower she was given. She was surprised that Kazam had managed to get this, he never even been to nine tales vale before and from what she was aware of these flowers only grew in that region of yokai and ancient lore.

Yet she decided to try and get over the surprise and talk about the cage she was kept in.

"They could not find a better thing." She mumbled to herself, eyes lowered to the mesh beneath her feet.

Kazam merely gave an annoyed sigh. Even though he was little, two years old, he knew what the purpose of cages were and was a bit smarter to work out certain things than other toddlers his age. He gave a dull look and reached towards a small latch in the cage and poked at it, as if to tell her with an obvious statement "You can just undo this latch and you could get out".

However Bella lowered his hand so he could stop poking the latch of the cage and she spoke in a quiet whisper "I...I don't want to get in trouble." She shuffled until she had her back to him as she couldn't move around much in that little puppy cage. Clearly people were being plain mean to the young girl...

Kazam nodded in understanding. He was sure that Pearl nor Maya would tolerate this sort of treatment of their youngest member of the Fey clan spirit mediums. However if she was being accused of such a horrible crime including hurting poor Maya then it would surely be a grave punishment to receive for her. She was too innocent, however, to do such a horrid thing.

He knew Bella more than anything, she wasn't one to disobey orders and do something naughty. That was why it was impossible for her to have done this! He had known her since birth according to Trucy and Pearl since both Kazam and Bella had shared their birthday and were practically born in the same hospital apparently so of course they would be lifelong friends.

Kazam frowned. He needed to do something else to make her feel better or else see her frown the biggest frown imaginable, he needed to do something else to perk her up. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth when an idea came to his mind.

"U-um, would you like to see another trick?" He stammered almost nervously but he still managed to keep a smile on his lips as he once again put his hand underneath his lavender cape to reach for something. It took a moment or two but bubbles managed to rise up from under the fabric along with some confetti as a balloon drifted up along with them even though there was no sign that it was underneath the cape.

As a matter of fact it, much like Trucy's magic apparently, laughed in the face of logic.

He pulled the floating balloon out from beneath his little cape and tied it to one of the bars of Bella's cage and her eyes lit up like a fine light as she stared in awe at the helium-filled orange piece of rubber. She actually laughed upon looking up at the balloon floating overhead, feeling her spirits lift up much like the item that hung in the air, slowly bobbing up and down involuntarily.

Her eyes met Kazam's as the very young magician smiled at her kindly as he assured her "Now try to keep your chin up, alright?" He winked at her "Phoenix the magnificent, amazing defense attorney with the nifty hairstyle and my grandfather, shall defend thou and help you without so much as a moments hesitation."

Bella was actually mesmerised by what Kazam was saying. Not only was he speaking in an amazing grammar for one so young but also half of what he said made very little sense to her. Had he been learning some strange randomness from Apollo and Athena again, she wondered?

However she didn't want to be rude so said nothing against it despite the fact that her growing mind was reeling with questions regarding it.

She simply watched as Alakazam Wright, aspired magician/defense attorney, began to make his departure with a small grin of confidence and he told her as he vanished around a corner "You'll be perfectly fine, Bella."

With that all went silent and Bella found herself looking at the delicate flower she had been given. It was so beautiful and she could hardly believe that Kazam had given her this precious plant that matched the colour of a flame crackling in the evening air, gifting its creators with warmth and light as it breathed in its sustenance of wood and charcoal. It was actually a pretty little thing that would twinkle like a star at night, like the eyes of a princess in a fairy tale.

She found herself sighing dreamily as she stared up at the ceiling above.

The youngest Fey member felt herself grow tired as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against one side of the cage bars so she could have a sleep. She was dog tired from all that had happened plus the party so late last night, she couldn't even believe most of it. Bella was sad that she wasn't in the arms of her mother right now since she had been taken away for questioning by Simon Blackquill in another part of the newly refurbished temple.

Yet, as she was finally drifting off, Bella opened her eyes to a few footsteps. Someone was approaching her!

"Hello, Bella..." The voice was soft but somewhat intimidating and she slowly opened her eyes to discern the identity of her visitor but found herself backing into a corner as she opened her eyes and found herself trembling before her visitor.

She felt goosebumps form on her arms and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she tried to use her voice even though it quivered at the poor attempts of using it. Why did is person come, and why did he decide to come now!?

Without being able to do much else, she screamed at the top of her lungs as she allowed all her fear to take a tight hold of her like the prey of a hawk clutching a tiny mouse in its razor sharp talons. She couldn't do much else for her throat was dried up and croaked up at best.

It was all she could do...

"AHHHHHHH!"

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun duuuuuuuuun! **

**Awww it seems we see Kazam try and cheer Bella up. Who is her strange visitor and why is she so scared of them!? Who could it possibly be, I tell you it will be a big surprise when the answer comes to light in the next chapter.**

**We see a little bit of tiny hints of romance but it isn't huge. **

**I hope you like this chapter, guys.**

**The first trial of this story is coming soon.**

**-Chloemcg**


	26. Bell of silence

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix knelt down in front of the cage belonging to Bella with a look of shock on his own facial features. He had just come to say "hi" to her and ask what had happened since he was going to be representing her as her attorney the next day and when he stooped down to meet her eye level, she screamed fearfully.

He jumped back, startled. Why was she so scared so suddenly? Maybe it was because she was trying to sleep and he suddenly said "hello" that would frighten her out of her wits. He thought this over and exclaimed hurriedly "A-Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" He held up his palms in a calming gesture.

Luckily the young girl seemed to have been calming down as she looked at Phoenix with wide eyes, a hand pressed to her heart to calm herself. She stared up at her attorney with big round eyes filled with fear but she calmed down when she recalled that he was a friend of the Fey clan.

She looked into his eyes and breathed deeply so he could start interrogating her. She brushed a strand of her dark brown hair aside and decided to listen to what he had to say and what the spiky-haired man had to ask her as she tried to maintain her calm composure and make sure she didn't sob herself silly.

Phoenix sighed to ready himself, he needed to ask her what happened but he also needed to be gentle with the poor thing since she was very frail and her emotions were sensitive to any little thing right now at the delicate age of two. He asked her gently "So Bella, what happened last night?"

However, whence he asked this, Bella backed away into the corner of her cage and shied away. She seemed reluctant on telling him for some reason as she shook her head quickly and rapidly as if in defiance, like she couldn't tell him.

Phoenix decided to ask the obvious "Can't you tell me?".

He got another shake of the head. Bella was adamant on not telling him what had happened the night before, for some reason. Phoenix thought on how to get her to tell him since he needed all of the details for her trial, he could leave no stone unturned and even if he did managed to pull off the whole "two day rule" in place he doubted that he could manage to get a lot of evidence involving this incident. There was a lot of suspicion cast on the poor girl, after all.

He scratched at the baby blue beanie he wore under his spiky hair in deep thought. How to get a little toddler to spill the beans? There was so many ways to chose from that he could think of. He used a gentle yet rather stern tone of voice and told Bella "Now, Bella, I _want _to get you out of here and I would _love _to help you're mother and Maya have you back. I can't do that without you're help."

Bella looked down in deep thought. She twiddled her pudgy thumbs nervously as she looked downcast, sad that she was fighting some inner demons that she had injected into her last night that scared her. She was frightened that a certain someone had drilled this fear into her mind and used it against her will, blackmailing her into doing this. Bella was smart enough to know when something bad was happening to her and she knew without a doubt that this was certainly a bad thing.

She felt her heart break as more tears slid down her cheeks. A whimpered sob escaped her throat as her bottom lip quivered apologetically, clearly sad as she squeezed her big eyes shut as an image flashed in front of her eyes. This certain person was always an image burned in her young toddler mind and she covered her eyes, shaking her head in upset as she curled up into a ball inside her small cage.

She was clearly in distress.

"B-Bella, it's alright!" Phoenix exclaimed in concern. He poked a finger through one of the bars so she could squeeze it in assurance "I wouldn't think any differently pf you if you tell me!"

Bella shook her head defiantly, little to no emotion showing in her pretty dark green orbs as she grabbed clumps of her own hair and she dropped to her little knees. She was sobbing heavily now as she whimpered in soft squeaks, she was beginning to let her guard down before charms of the nice blue-wearing attorney.

She was persistent on this. She knelt down on the bottom mesh of the cage and she tried as hard as she could to curl up into the smallest ball imaginable, unable to do much else as she just tensed her stiff muscles to make her ball even smaller than it needed to be. Bella Fey could do not much else as she sobbed in her heap of peach and light brown, her small button nose crinkling up and down as she let out soft sniffles. She could even feel her chest rise up and down heavily in desperation as she tried to keep that horrid memory out of her young mind.

"Gr-Granny Morgan...I-I-I can't tell!" She squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the tears of despair to flow down her face. She was hurting, that much was true. Clearly this little secret was tormenting the poor thing and whatever secret it was, it was Morgan who made her keep it.

Even when she was yelling her squeak of a voice was so impossibly cute!

Sympathy filled up Phoenix's soul like a teacup. He could see the grief inside the two year old's eyes, it was heart-shattering to witness in all honesty. He wanted nothing more than to pull her close and hug her to calm her down. He could not do that to his client, however, so he decided to try and calm her.

He couldn't force his words out of his throat, however, and he looked at her. Clearly Morgan was well-prepared and had found a way to keep Bella quiet. He couldn't blame her, of course, and he didn't have enough evidence to just get her to tell who it was whom had muzzled her like this. One thing was crystal clear, however:

She was innocent without a doubt.

Phoenix just couldn't imagine a little girl committing such a heinous act and the contradictions of these circumstances were so large that he couldn't properly name them all. Yet it was not entirely out of the question for the other nuns here for some reason...

Discouraged, Phoenix once again got to his feet and decided to talk to Maya and see about getting some evidence that hopefully Apollo and Athena should help with. He simply nodded his head to the youngest member of the Fey clan and he gave her a Japanese bow of respect as he awkwardly side-stepped away from her cage "...Okay, you win for now." He could feel the disappointment leak into his voice yet his eyes were brimming with hard determination.

He abandoned his awkward side steps and walked forwards with a frown on his face and his wiry brows furrowed over his eyes. His arms swung back and forth as he walked with confidence, nothing seeming to have been stopping him from giving up so easily. Phoenix walked down the pristine hallways of the temple and left the young girl alone even though it killed him, he hated having to leave her alone like this but he wasn't one to force information out of children so viciously and knew that patience was key.

He couldn't get much info out of Morgan either since she seemed too smug to talk and reveal information.

He felt rather heavy by the heavy, baggy clothes he wore but knew that despite the circumstances he was willing to put up with a lot. He could see the dark trial ahead in his mind as he couldn't see much more than violence and despair on the road ahead. He kept his face stone-like as he walked ahead, down towards the medical wing so he could see his old friend Maya Fey, master of this very temple.

The ace attorney had a feeling that he would be running into his old students very soon and they would help him out of this vacuum of loss. He lacked that important evidence needed to break that hard shell that had formed around little Bella's innocent little heart and if anyone could help him get it, it would have to be them.

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**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this updated. I accidentally done something to two previous chapters and I got sad from how I had to rewrite them, each chapter takes at least a day to write and accidentally erased TWO chapters so I got a bit sad. I managed to get those two chapters fixed now, though.**

**We will see Maya again next chapter, will Apollo and Athena get the evidence next?**

**Please review and fav if thats alright.**

**-Chloemcg**


	27. Remembering of a crime

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix finally begun to approach the medical wing where Maya was resting and recovering, his face still and stone-faced with pure determination. He was going to try and speak with Maya and see what she thinks of the whole situation, knowing how Maya felt about the young girl.

Maya would move heaven and earth to make sure Pearly and her daughter were both happy but she did not expect this to happen and didn't want Bella to be banished but if she was found guilty then it would be horrid for her, nobody deserves banishment from their own home...

Even though she was the master of the Kurain spirit channelling technique, she didn't exactly decide everything of the temple so Bella's "crime" would be ran by the council and her fate would be decided.

Banishment was the likeliest option.

Phoenix couldn't allow that to happen, he would rather die by strangulation than to see an innocent child be pulled from her home and purposefully abandoned and left out on the streets of this foreign.

He just continued to walk down the halls with only his thoughts to keep him company and serve as his companion. He wasn't used to being alone even with all the experience he had gone through and that "secret mission" he went on during the last of Apollo's first streak of first trials. Always he had some sort of companion, some sort of bouncy smiley someone he would used to correct and be a sarcastic stick-in-the-mud to.

In all honesty, he felt sort of awkward without someone to talk to...

However his train of thought was snapped abruptly when he collided with something hard and he smacked right into it. Stumbling backwards in a mix of surprise and pain, a hand to his sore forehead, he blinked his eyes multiple times to adjust his vision and refresh his sight to see what he crashed into. Every time he opened his eyes it just felt like a camera had flashed in his face but he eventually managed to realise that he had been thinking for longer than he thought since he had actually smashed into the door to the infirmary.

"Ugh! What the-" Phoenix started before trailing off, barely able to comprehend how he had missed something so blatant. Maybe his eyesight was regressing earlier than he thought...thanks to old age!

It didn't come as much of a surprise but then again, he WAS in the stage of life where his back would constantly ache and he would begin nagging non-stop about his aches and bodily pains and he would even embarrass poor Apollo from time to time when he would tell stories and ramble on and on about how apparently "unreliable" he was when he first saw him.

Phoenix sighed and shook his head. Now was not the time for pondering on such things, he had an interrogation to begin with a certain someone.

"How many more times must I question Maya? its enough that the poor girl had been accused of murder, twice, but now she's the VICTIM of the crime!" He muttered to himself as he opened the door and he pulled his beanie over his bruising forehead, a black spike of his hair drooping down against his forehead from underneath his beanie hat.

He opened the door and the stench of blood and soreness reached his nose, making it crinkle up in anguish and disgust of how sickeningly strong it was.

It was a smell he didn't want to linger.

Phoenix walked into the room and got a good look at the sight before him.

There were a few nurse maids tending to Maya's nasty head wound as she was being wrapped up in a tight bandage that would hopefully stop the beating that she took earlier that evening during the party she hosted earlier. The walls were painted a dark green and the floors beneath were ivory marble and there were hospital beds lining up against each wall of the room except the corner of the entrance/exit.

The hobo-dressed Phoenix approached Maya's bed and knelt down at her bedside so their eyes could meet and he began to speak to her her gently so he wouldn't bombard her with questions so suddenly and overwhelm the usually cheerful mind that was currently her injured noggin. He greeted her "Hi, Maya..." He smiled sadly "How's you're head?"

Maya's reply was a bit delayed. She opened her eyes weakly and smiled at her old friend "I'm fine thanks, Nick...my head is throbbing, though." She admitted but she had the look of a scared little child.

Phoenix smirked. Maya really hadn't changed, actually. It didn't surprise him to hear that from the poor girl, especially the part when she said that she had a splitting headache, and she needed a gentle talking to and whatever he had to say it was clear that he had to speak softly or Maya would probably get irritable.

He placed a friendly hand on top of her limp one and squeezed it in reassurance. He would stand by his friend no matter what happened, he could say that with certainty!

"Don't worry, Maya, just tell me slowly what you can remember." He instructed "any little thing would help; I'm at a dead end right now with the case anyway."

It was true. He failed to get much out of poor Bella and Apollo and Athena were out gathering some imperative items from the crime scene, too busy for much else although Apollo must have been worrying out of his mind about poor Juniper whom was still a little out of sorts even though her fever had long since gone even though her mind was shuffled.

The ace attorney couldn't think of much to do but speak with poor Maya whom had still been recovering from the blow to the head she had taken just the night before.

The woman must have been suffering from a major headache after that knock to the head she took. Having a bottle presumably smashed over the head must have been a little hard to focus on and should have killed her! She was lucky to be alive right now.

Maya shifted her position slightly whilst the nurses were carefully wrapping her head up in bandages after the wound had been properly stitched up. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened even though the memories were repressed and flashed like collaborative lightning strikes right in front of her vision as she snapped them open, her pupils shrank in fear.

She gave a shaky gasp as she grabbed on to Phoenix's hand.

Phoenix could sense the fear shattering through Maya right then. She didn't exactly have a good grasp on what happened, it seemed as those memories had been severed and split into separate parts of that single moment where it separated: the moment where that glass bottle slammed down on her head.

Her honourable top knot even had to be untied so her head could be properly wrapped. It made her realise that she would probably involuntarily make Bella leave the Hazakura temple #2 and unintentionally push the little girl out into the streets of Japan. Maya didn't want to lose anymore of the noble Fey family members!

"It's okay, Maya. I will protect Bella and Pearl... I promise." Nick's voice snapped her from her thinking, reading her thoughts exactly.

Maya blinked multiple times to remind herself that she was alright and she stared at the unrecognisable ace attorney with a sad face. She concentrated on her sisters old student's face and watched as he continued to coax her to tell him what had happened the previous night.

She sighed. He was in the middle of an investigation, she could reminisce on what happened when he was gone and not asking her about this. She nodded to him with a small smile of determination breaking that momentary fear that had shaken her a bit.

"Alright, Nicky-boy," she started with a teasing edge in her American-accented voice "I'll tell you what I can remember."

Phoenix grinned. This was the Maya Fey he knew, all bubbly and cheerful! He stayed silent and decided to listen to what she had to tell him although she didn't know how helpful she could be. Perhaps she could shed some light on the situation, she always used to help him do that in the good old days!

"Atta girl, Maya." He muttered proudly and he then sat there readily.

"I can remember enjoying myself at the party and watching you, Apollo, Athena and Trucy having a good time."

The hobo-disguised defense attorney said nothing. He simply listened to what she had to say as he painted a picture of every word she said inside his head and the image of himself and the others singing on stage plastered in his mind in a black and white colouration. He poured over every word Maya told him until he found some crucial words of meaning in her testimony.

"But then..." She closed her eyes tightly to remember "Bella asked me to help her with something and led me down with her to the...the cellar, I think it was."

Phoenix nodded his head, mutedly confirming this and telling her to continue. He made sure to think up mental notes of every word she said, as he intently heard what she was telling him. He was intrigued by this testimony and his eyes were shining like that of a child on Christmas morning.

"We walked down the stairs to get some drinks for everyone back upstairs in the party hall. I was confused in all honesty, I didn't know what was going on until..." She put a heavily pressed hand against her head to prevent the chances of an oncoming headache that flashed through her mind where her memory had gone blank on her "...Thats all I can remember, Nick...I'm sorry."

Phoenix was a little disappointed since this drawn to no conclusive evidence. However he needed to stay positive, if there was anyway to eliminate the impossible whatever remains must be the truth. Besides, his motto was "The worst of times were when lawyers had to force their biggest smiles" it was time to stick to that motto and put some money where his mouth was.

He smiled gently at her "Its okay, I won't press you right now. But if you remember anything -anything at all- then tell me _right _away, got it?"

The spirit medium master nodded her head eagerly. She would do anything to help her family and she would trust her good friend, Nick, with her life! She could always count on him so she knew that he was more than capable to rescue her cousin's daughter from banishment.

Phoenix had saved her more than once after all!

"Alright, Nick! I'll tell you when I remember something." She gave him a puppy dog look "please do tell Truce I said "hi" though, will you?"

Phoenix nodded his head. Every time Trucy was mentioned, his felt pride grab at his heart playfully. It was like the memory of that playful little magician always hugged him and he felt proud of her every second of everyday, even when she had announced her pregnancy with Kazam. Yes he was beyond shocked at first but he settled into the idea despite the reluctance of being a grandfather so soon and felt even prouder if that were possible for her overcoming her dark beginnings of that woe some time in her life.

Speaking of that frisky, smiling magician...

"Where is Trucy anyway?" Maya asked.

Phoenix smiled confidently at the mention of his adopted daughter "Ah, she'll be helping me with the investigation-"

He quirked a wiry, teasing brow towards her as he mentioned the fact that delightful little girl of his was going to help her...even though she refused to be called "little" anymore. Currently she helped him the most frequently with investigations and cases alongside Apollo and Athena. Even Star and Luna helped at times when interrogating clients with their similar abilities that complimented their adoptive mother's own.

"-don't get jealous of the kid, Maya."

Maya scoffed and folded her arms across her chest in a surly, stubborn way. She rested her head back against the pillow of her hospital bed. She smiled teasingly back at Phoenix "Pfft, oh please. Trucy maybe good working alongside you but she won't replace me while you're out in the field."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. He couldn't deny that Maya would always have a special place in his heart when it came to investigations but he couldn't say this enough times:

Maya would _never _change.

He stood up and turned on his heels to leave through the door. He couldn't deny the cold sweat slivering down his face but he did feel an ounce of encouragement from that visit to go old Maya Fey, actually it made him feel kind of nostalgic and it brought him back to several years ago where he was still a lawyer in his prime. He was an at-the-top sort of underpaid defense attorney who was proud of what he accomplishments he had done.

He wandered towards the door whence he heard Maya's voice call from behind "What are you doing now?"

He stopped. That was a good question in all honesty. What could he do?

His investigation had drawn to a blank, which was unusual, and he now had to rely on Apollo and Athena to help him try and figure this case out. He couldn't really think of anyways to win this thing with so little evidence and so little time and even though Juniper was a friend of theirs, she wasn't an easy judge to handle especially when she was pregnant.

Even Simon would have a hard time getting along with her with his famous "power of suggestion" and he knew exactly how to make everyone dance on his palm.

The only one she would be cute and cuddly towards, the only time she would let down her stern guard, would have to be when Apollo gives her a before-trial kiss on the nose. It was sickeningly sweet but it did sweeten her just a little bit for them and only rarely does she seem more like in a good mood. However she did give fair verdicts despite that and she played her role well.

He shrugged his shoulders and looked back towards her rather weak form "I guess I'll investigate myself. I need something to help me here."

Maya nodded with a confident smile and she gave him a weak thumbs up "Okay. I believe in you, Nick, and please do what you can to save Bella."

The ace attorney smiled, his deep blue eyes gleaming with confidence. He knew he had to stay true to what he believed in and believed his client to the very end here, nothing could discourage him right now since there was a little girl about Kazam's age whom needed his help.

That was enough reason to help her.

He nodded to her, agreeing to do everything in his power to assure her stay in the temple, and left the room so he could get Trucy and begin his own investigation and see if he would find Apollo and Athena on the way to the crime scene.

* * *

**A/N: Cliff hanger!**

**We seem to have a back-to-back investigation between two teams of different Ace attorneys. Phoenix and Trucy Wright VS Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes. I can't wait to see where this goes and very soon we should have the beginning of our first Turnabout of "Rise of the fallen". **

**I sincerely would love reviews to see how I'm going if that's possible.**

**Reviews and suggestions for later chapters are more than welcome.**

**Thank you very much.**

**-Chloemcg**


	28. Truth wrangler Apollo

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo, Athena, Luna and Star said nothing as they walked through the halls. They had hopeless looks on each of their faces that looked amazingly identical as they gloomily trudged through the marble hallways of the new Hazakura temple, their eyes sadly downcast as they could do nothing more than sigh depressingly and to just stare down at their equally sad reflections on the floor.

The group of four went to find Bella Fey, the accused for this crime. But so far their efforts had proved to be in vain.

They had a dreadful feeling surrounding that bullet they found at the crime scene. It weighed heavily on each of their minds for some reason as they awaited the results of Aura's analysis that could lead to finding some rifling marks. Yet this examination was taking much longer than it was supposed to.

"Apollo," Athena began, her face baring a depressed expression so deep that it would reduce even that famous Crying boy painting to tears of shame "why do I feel so anxious about that bullet analysis?"

Apollo shrugged as he too bore a saddened face. He couldn't even begin to think of anything that could possibly answer that question his investigative partner, and he simply furrowed his brows at the yellow-wearing attorney at law.

"...I don't know, Athena. I feel a bit uneasy about it too." He admitted. He was stressing his brain about this, wasn't he? Maybe he should loosen up a little bit when they were about to question Bella much like two other individuals had done earlier this day.

The small group travelled down the hallways in an effort to find the dog cage the young girl was apparently being kept in as they couldn't find any better places to lock up such a young spirit medium and little girl that was accused of assailing a middle-aged woman such as Maya. Nobody could even condone what was happening to the poor dear and why she was being accused...but then again she was the only one there at the crime scene so of course she was being suspected of carrying out this fowl deed.

Apollo plucked up the courage to look up and face what was in front of him as he continued walking through the ivory hallways, his eyes hardening like a shield after being polished to gleam like a precious diamond.

It didn't take much longer until they finally spotted the cage where Bella sat, looking heartbreakingly down as she sat there hunched up in a lonesome corner with her back turned to the group.

Even though Apollo and Athena couldn't see her face, they knew that she must have needed some company right about now and with that both them and Luna and Star hastened towards her caged form and skidded to a sudden halt in front of the containment box that would probably normally be used to hold a Labrador puppy.

Both Apollo and Athena knelt down to see her more clearly as they peered in through the thinned lines of bars keeping her contained while Star and Luna bent down to see her since there was no need for two young girls to kneel down like the two adults were. The twins tilted their heads simultaneously as they stared off sideways, expressions of confusions on their faces.

Bella hiccuped out of shock when she heard one of Apollo's clumsy feet bump the side of the mesh with a metallic "clank" erupting from her contained limited amount of space and she swiftly turned to face her visitors with widened eyes filled with fear as she clutched the precious flower that Kazam had given to her earlier, once again stroking the soft petals to soothe her overwhelming worries.

She flashed them a wide-eyed expression with her saucer-like eyes filling with tears, trying to back herself into the corner she had previously turned against but she couldn't back away anymore than she was already. She quickly realized this and gawked fearfully at them yet, despite her mouth being wide open, nothing came forth from her constricted throat since she was paralyzed with fear. She became more and more fearing with the increasing amount of visitors.

Athena decided to try and calm her since she could sense the dreadful amount of uncontrollable fear she had building up within her heart "Hey, its okay...we aren't going to hurt you." She assured gently to try and coax her out of her corner of protection. Yet it didn't seem to work since tears began to stream down her precious cheeks and whimpers finally escaped her throat to try and express her fear of her visitors.

Luna decided to try and calm the two year old down as she intervened, gently pushing both the adults behind her so she could have a try. The girl smiled softly as she brushed her long hair to one side and she gave Bella a gentle stare with her turquoise eyes shining brightly as they lidded with this gentle compassion.

"Its alright, Bella. Even though my mother's associate may look like some kind of demon from a scary manga-"

Apollo was deeply offended by that remark "Hey!"

Luna continued "-he wouldn't hurt you even if he was ordered to by the thousands of demons surrounding hell." She grinned happily with a satisfied nod of the head, knowing exactly why Bella was reluctant to speak to them "And I doubt he would even want to tell anyone of that secret of yours."

Everyone was surprised. Luna had a very good eye for detail and could tell what others were thinking and feeling while Star could do the same and get inside your mind to manipulate others to her will even though she only done that if someone got her angry and upset and that was near impossible, plus Star couldn't control that part of her ability while Luna simply uses her keenness for reading people like a book to her advantage.

That power was what partly drawn Athena to her adopted daughters.

They didn't say a word until Apollo face palmed with a heavy sigh. He thought everyone was over calling him a demon, he had enough of that from Jinxie Tenma, one of Trucy's friends from Nine tales vale. He didn't exactly like being called an emissary from the underworld! He sighed heavily, a look of dry sarcasm plastered upon his face as he felt a glare come on. Yet he watched as Bella reluctantly approached them with a saddened look in her eye.

"...How did you know?"

Bella's inquiry warranted all eyes to be stilled upon her, scaring her a bit as she shuddered quietly. She looked at Luna curiously.

The older sister of the twins smirked mischievously as she folded her arms and looked away yet she seemed smugly defiant "I have my own secrets, Bella, no trades."

Apollo and Athena only stared at each other in bewilderment. It was incredibly cool that Luna had managed to get her to speak, truthfully, but they couldn't ponder on this for too long otherwise they would lose their chance to speak with her. Neither adults said a single word as Luna continued to reassure the caged up Bella.

"So was I right in saying all of that, then?" She asked playfully.

Apollo raised a fickle brow at her, a small knowing frown on his face (_I think you _know _that you were right, miss cheeky...) _he thought teasingly.

Bella nodded meekly in response to the question, her head hung lower than low as her chin almost touched the cold hard ground beneath her. She seemed to be in a mix of concern and deep thought, unsure of what to say or do now that her feelings had been exposed.

She shivered slightly when a small amount of the cold surrounding her prison got to her and the young girl stared up at her visitors weakly. She was still worried about letting her family members down, especially her grandmother.

Apollo placed a finger against his chin thoughtfully, making some decisions of himself. He knew he needed to give her a slight nudge in speaking terms but he needed to approach this delicately, the poor little thing being so vulnerable to loud voices and all...

He managed a small smile, the one he would usually wear when speaking to Juniper if she gets frightened, and he softly returned the slight push aside he received from Luna and done the same thing as he made himself front and center for her innocent young face.

"Alright then, Bella. Can you tell me what ya know?" He asked softly while toning down his Chords of steel to a lower volume. He gazed at the youngest Fey clan member, his otherwise determined pools glaring right into hers as he tried so hard to nullify his spirited lungs that were always prepared for yelling up a storm in both the court and in anywhere he deemed good for his morning voice exercises.

However Bella stubbornly shook her head, pursing her lips shut as she twisted half of her body to one side as if in a sulk.

"...And why not?" Apollo asked after a moment of pause, abandoning his kinder voice.

Bella shifted in place, crossing her pudgy arms across her chest. She clearly still wasn't going to tell them that secret she had this sad look in her eyes. That told Apollo that she wanted to tell but couldn't; she was trying to protect someone!

Apollo swallowed but continued to urge her to spill the beans "It would make things a _lot _easier if you tell us."

However Bella continued to refuse. Why was the little girl being so stubborn so suddenly? this was really odd...

The red-wearing attorney wasn't willing to give up. He smoothed back his twin spikes of hair that stood on the top of his head in determination and he cleared his throat sternly with the very faint traces of a scowl on his face, he was trying very hard not to yell and frighten the little girl since he didn't wish to flood these halls in tears.

Apollo raised his muscles up and lowered them as he exhaled "Huuuuuh..." He sighed heavily "alright, let's have a compromise: I give you a treat for being good in exchange for a little bit of information."

Bella once again seemed lost in deep thought. That did sound like a tempting offer but should she tell them? It wasn't like he said that she could reveal the secret she was forced to keep, she sighed heavily in defeat. She might as well help them a little bit since they were here to help her after all. She reluctantly lifted her head up to face them and she nodded in agreement.

The young girl clasped her hands around the plant she received from Kazam earlier, smiling a little bit "Mister demon, I shall tell you what I can tell you." She said suddenly.

Apollo smiled gratefully. Hopefully this should win her over a little bit, at least. They needed all the hope they could get right now since they were at a dead end until she can shed some light on the situation for them, they didn't know what to lose anymore. He asked "Thanks, Bella, what can you tell us?"

Once again Bella appeared to have been thinking it over carefully.

She sighed before she thought of something other than the promise she was forced to keep "Alright, mister. I'll tell you that it Wa-was a few nights ago when I was called by someone." she shut her eyes as she tried to recall those events of which she spoke "I waandered around for a few minutes because I didn't know where to go but..." She opened her tearful eyes and looked down "I couldn't recall where to go exactly and meet this person."

Apollo, Athena and the twins stayed quiet for this. She may have mispronounced "wandered" a bit there but she didn't seem to be lying in the least so they just latched on to every word she said, awaiting for that important piece of info that could so desperately save their behinds in time for the trial tomorrow.

Bella continued weakly "...Yet he or she seemed to have found me either way and they approached me yet kept to the shadows, I think." she looked down "I didn't see their face anything but I did recognise this person's voice."

Apollo once again looked at Athena whom had a look of pure confusion. The two adults could barely comprehend this, they wanted to know what that secret was but hey; any news is good news right at this moment.

Bella shrugged loosely "I was asked by this person to meet up with mystic Maya and Morder her down in the cellar and all I did was try and compwete my goal. I hurt Mystic Maya..."

She finished there even though now she mispronounced "Murder" and "Complete" that made it three words she couldn't say properly. The group smiled a little at each other, slightly discouraged but were happy that they had some new information that could possibly shed some light on the subject...but it was then that that last statement sunk into their heads.

Did she just say what they think she did?!

Athena was the first to take this realisation into account "Oh...dear."

Luna and Star were next to catch on "Wait, WHAAAAAAT!?"

Apollo simply smacked his forehead, nervous drops of sweat trickling down his face and chest thus dampening his outfit. He groaned heavily as he knew that with Bella saying that they won't get far with this new revelation. Did Bella seriously want to play this card?! She could still get banished for this crime and everyone (except for the nuns of the temple other than Iris) knew she couldn't possibly had done this.

He lowered his hand, not saying anymore regarding the matter. Somehow he knew that arguing this point anymore would prove fruitless unless they provided the little girl some invaluable evidence so she could believe in herself and quit with the self-doubting.

Apollo felt his hand dive into one of his vest pockets and he retrieved a small cube of mint chocolate before handing it to Bella whom basically snatched it with great enthusiasm before she began to politely scarf it down. How one could eat so savagely yet so gracefully was a complete mystery to everyone.

He stood up and he turned to face the others with a renewed look of determination flashing within his deep brown orbs.

"...So what now, Apollo?" Athena asked after a moment to gather her thoughts.

Apollo too regained his bearings before he announced "We go search for Mr. Wright, of course, he needs to know about this and we might as well do something while we wait for those results from Aura."

The girls nodded yet they could sense a longing desperation in Apollo's voice. He must have been anxious to get back to Juniper too yet he didn't seem to want to surrender that information towards them since they were all sneaky in their own ways. Without saying a word they all walked down the hall once more yet they heard Bella's voice shyly call out "Please say "hello" to mister Hobo for me!"

Nobody needed to know who that was since there was only one person who fit that description right at this very moment. They simply nodded in agreement as they completely disappeared around a corner without turning back.

Apollo, the twins nor Athena could tell what else was going to happen but they were sticking to what they believed in and for now that was their client's innocence.

What else would happen with this crazy investigation?

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys, sorry this took a few days. I was just busy with my new school and getting back to it. **

**Anyways whoever had faved this before may need to do that again since I'm not sure but the favourites had been deleted after I gave up awhile back, I only put the story back up again when I found the strength to keep going.**

**Now it seems that we get back to Apollo, Athena, Star and Luna and you finally hear the specifics of the twins' powers. What did you think of that?**

**Please leave a review. I would appreciate it.**

**-Chloemcg**


	29. Father and daughter bonding time

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix grinned sharply, a confidence glowing anew within him. He had decided to stay positive until he runs into Apollo and Athena, he had to remain so in order to perhaps yield better results than the times before. Besides he had Trucy walking alongside him currently so of course he would be feeling a bit better about himself now that he had his adopted daughter investigating alongside him.

"So, daddy," Trucy began, dipping her top hat a bit low "what exactly are we searching for at the crime scene?"

Phoenix patted his adopted grown up daughter on the back sportively, grinning all the while "Well its simple, Trucy, we just need to find something down at the scene of the crime that should confirm Maya's testimony." He held up a piece of paper and passed it to her for emphasis.

Trucy examined each and every written word of calligraphy written on the sheet of paper as she walked alongside the much older spiky-haired lawyer. This was really interesting, Bella did indeed lead Maya down into the cellar to get some drinks that would sustain everyone at the party. But there was something off about this, no...there was something off about this entire case! She couldn't place a finger on it but something about this case made her feel uneasy. She gave a slight flap of her blue cape and eyed the ceiling with uncertainty.

She couldn't shake this feeling that she was being intently watched.

The magician looked back at her father with a nervous smile, he was too busy staring out the window. Her father was amazing and loved her more than all the ace attorney badges in the world. In fact, she felt so special that she would hug her father forever. Even when she was pregnant with Kazam he was very supporting of her and was always there to lend a hand whenever she was upset or she was having some difficulty with her magic tricks.

She also had the support of Apollo whom she considered almost like a brother. A big, loud, protective brother whom would go great lengths to protect her from harm even if they got on each other nerves sometimes and annoy each other to some extent. They even tease each other like siblings would.

Athena was also helpful as she would have invaluable girl-chats. Neither of them judged each other and even spent some afternoons together with Juniper to go shopping together. They even had some sleepovers at Athena's apartment.

Trucy felt proud to be surrounded to such a caring adopted family.

"Trucy?" Phoenix's voice snapped Trucy from her train of thought and she friskily shook her head to remind herself what she was doing before.

"Yes Daddy?" She asked after a moments pause, feeling awkward about slipping into a completely different realm of thought. She looked the other way for a few moments before eyeing her adopted father sideways with a small shy smirk.

Phoenix furrowed a wiry brow. That was odd of her, she seemed to have been thinking deeply about something. However they were walking down the endless corridor that dragged on for miles on end, Trucy was acting really strange but decided not to press her.

He simply shrugged his shoulders dismissively and repeated the question which snapped her from her quiet dazing "I asked what do you think we'll find?"

Trucy simply returned the shrug and replied with a raised brow "I don't know, daddy, hopefully something that can bring clarity to Pearl and get Bella acquitted."

Thats what they were hoping for. Poor Pearl had been crying a river ever since Bella was found in the cellar with that bottle in her hand. The poor pretzel-haired woman must have been totally heartbroken over her precious little girl being accused for assaulting her beloved cousin.

Phoenix nodded his head. His girl was very bright, she always was a clever cookie. He shoved his hands into his pockets and an almost nonchalant tone in his voice as he ducked his head between his shoulders.

"Well I guess that that is what we can hope for now, Trucy." Phoenix told her.

Father and daughter didn't say a word until they finally saw a door-shaped archway coming into focus. It was like a door had just began becoming clear to them as it appeared the further they journeyed down the hallway of the new temple.

Phoenix took Trucy by the hand and led her down the halls. They continued to have a shared silence as they didn't want to disrupt each other's thoughts.

Ever since this adventure began, the ace attorney and his subordinates had been thinking a lot. Especially about what their futures had in store and what Organisation Z.E.R.O's nest move would be in hunting them down and smoking them out into the open so they would be brutally slaughtered like chickens being decapitated via axe.

The group were adamant on not allowing fate to grab them in their icy clutches of intertwined destinies.

They both walked down the hallways with an increasing fear growing on their faces followed by heavy loads of sweat dripping down.

Phoenix, being the team leader here, knew that whatever came their way then they would have to face it head on when the time was right. He was proud to have Athena, Apollo, Juniper and Trucy by his side and he found himself thinking something. His own voice echoed something in the back of his head like wind whistling passed his ear in a gentle whisper.

(_Don't worry, guys. I'll protect you all if I have to...) _he thought with a deep resolute look etched deep on to his face. He did nothing but stare forwards with a crooked smirk on his lips, what he said was true. He would do anything to rescue his friends -his family- from such a cruel fate.

His heart matched the sound of a band of drums being smacked in a parade but he didn't care. Phoenix Wright was going to rescue the Fey clan since this meant so much to him, more than anyone could ever know...

* * *

**A/N: My deepest apologies for this short chapter. I'm just a bit busy right at the moment. It seems that things are starting to slowly unravel now and Phoenix is becoming a bit unnerved. We may just see the trial in the next chapter since we don't see what Phoenix and Trucy uncover until later on in the trial.**

**I have to ask whose your favourite character. What can I improve on? **

**Thank you for reading this so far and putting up with me.**

**-Chloemcg**


	30. Turnabout temple bells: beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Nerves were raised, anxiety was flowing around the temporary courtroom lobby, and tensions were sharpened and spiked for the killing blow.

Nobody could describe how suspenseful this environment was as it emitted nothing but stress and a decent amount of fear which had been sprinkled with some bitter discouragement. It was like even the elements around them had wanted them to lose this case!

Phoenix, Kazam, Apollo and Juniper all stood in the main hall as they kept a sharp eye on the defendant. They said nothing as they could do nothing but stand there with worry reflecting off of their usually spirit-filled eyes. While Phoenix held his squirmiest grandson in his arms, he looked over at Apollo whom was showering his wife with pecks on the cheeks and sickeningly cliche words of loves that had been uttered with care.

Phoenix had a bored expression on his face as he covered Alakazam's eyes so the young whelp wouldn't be permanently scarred by witnessing those two kissing constantly. Seriously, did these two EVER need air in between those kisses to the lips?

"Don't worry about a thing, I know you'll do a great job..." Apollo grinned sweetly, a seductive tone in his voice as he gave a sly wag of the brow and he caressed his wife's pale hand.

Juniper returned the flirting as she fluttered her eyelashes at her red-wearing hero "Just because I'm you're wife, Apollo, doesn't mean that I'll go easy on you while I'm the judges bench."

Apollo winked at her, continuing to be (figuratively) disgustingly flirtatious in front of his boss and unknowing nephew as they both shared a face full of shameful frowns and eyes filled with shock. As a matter of fact, there was even a bead of sweat showing at one side of their heads to put an emphasis on how they felt about this lovey-dovey scene. Neither Phoenix nor Kazam wished to witness this...or Phoenix didn't, anyway.

It had been like this ever since they awoke after their investigation yesterday. Phoenix reviewed the evidence in the Court record before he got dressed in one of his spare blue suits and crimson ties and dusted himself off to make his attire gleam like a gem even though he still had some stubble dotting his chin to make it look scruffy in a way and his spiky black hair was even more so.

After that he quickly took Kazam into the court room lobby whilst they were shortly accompanied by Apollo and Juniper whom was still a bit wonky after being suffering with a bad case of the flu earlier.

They had been like this ever since...

Apollo smirked "Don't go easy on me, my dear," he planted a few more kisses on Junie's cheek and then moved on to snuggling her huge belly where his growing child was being kept within and that was when it got awkward "I think you look very angelic on the stand even when you're drilling holes into our logic..."

(..._Gee, talk about blind love._) Phoenix thought to himself dully. He could have sworn that the comment his old understudy had just made his heart cave in with worry. Even though he had to remain determined and positive, the doubt he had whilst working with those stubborn old ladies on the other side of those grand doors leading into the courtroom.

Was Apollo, PURPOSEFULLY, trying to make him feel the pressure?!

The other, younger man with the strange spiky hair lovingly stroked Juniper's swollen stomach and murmured words of endearment that nobody could really hear before a certain voice drew his, Junie's, Kazam's and Phoenix's over towards a different hallway.

Pearl, looking really glassy eyed, stood in the doorway, leaning heavily against the left side of its frame. She looked like she had been through a festival of tears non stop and the fact that her tears were still rolling down her cheeks was enough to prove that the younger woman of the Fey Clan had been taking this case particularly hard.

After a moment of awkward silence, Apollo turned his attention to his heavily pregnant wife and kisses her again yet it was a loss less passionate but it was still soft and gentle as it left some warmth on her cheek were it touched as delicately as the petal of a rose. "Alright. I'll see you in the courtroom, Juniper."

The flower girl nodded her head and wandered towards the door, waddling a little from the fact that she had to carry some precious yet big cargo that centered around her mid section for now. She disappeared behind the doors and went inside so Phoenix, Kazam and Apollo could speak to the defendant's beloved mother and speak with her words of both comfort and of some wisdom as to not startle her anymore with this incident.

Pearl exhaled a quaky breath as she slowly walked into the room yet, unlike Juniper, her stumbles were a lot more violent as her feet pivoted all over the place as if to make her walk like a drunken man or such. Even her pretzel-shaped ponytail had become frizzy no doubt from the tears she had been crying for hours on end.

When she met the others with a broken look, Phoenix decided to calm her down by planting a hand on her shoulder and he offered her the warmest of smiles ever "Don't worry, Pearls, we'll get Bella back to you...I swear it!"

Pearl wiped a sleeve across her darkened eyes, mopping up some remaining tears that lined the bottom of her ocular senses as she tried to breathe in and out slowly as if to calm herself and to forget about the shock wave of terror that had since raided her motherly instincts and drowned her hormones in deep fried paranoia. Her daughter's future was riding on her cousins good friend Mr. Nick!

She opened her innocent glassy eyes to look at the friend of the Fey clan. It seemed like only yesterday when a much younger Phoenix Wright would travel around with her (Maya) and herself. Pearl may have been a little girl then who bore no knowledge about the world outside of her cozy little village but thanks to Phoenix, she had come to love the world she was born in and therefore she desired to explore every corner she had missed during those first eight years of her life. That was a wish she hoped to share with her loved ones; the people she trusted with everyone she knew, including her daughter.

Pearl gave a small nod and smiled softly at her daughter's defense attorney, showing she had some faith in Mystic Maya's "special somebody" and she actually changed her expression from one of deep worry to one of full courage. She had to believe in Phoenix and his team of Ace attorneys, there was no more she could do!

So, jokingly, she gave a mischievous look and jabbed Phoenix in the chest in sharp pokes "I know you will, Mr. Nick, but also win Mystic Maya's heart while your at it! You fail at saving my baby and I will not hesitate on unleashing my wrath upon you."

Phoenix fought the urge to sigh heavily. The whole "MayaXPhoenix" theory was getting annoying after all these years. However, given the circumstances and the fact that mothers are the scariest creatures to walk the earth, he couldn't tell her off without getting a beating that promised to smart for a few days. Especially hot tempered and protective mothers that wriggled their way at the top of the food chain were scariest without a shadow of a doubt.

He simply rolled his eyes with a smile "...Whatever, Pearls, I'll do what I can."

Phoenix watched as Pearl now wore a sweet grin that spread from ear to ear, etching upon her lips. The younger spirit medium was now so excited that she was practically bouncing up and down, forgetting a huge portion of those fears that she had bottled up inside her. However she was cut short when Apollo brought up a very good question:

"Mr. Wright, where are Trucy, Athena, our client and the twins?"

Phoenix and Pearl stopped dead in their conversation and turned to face the red clad attorney.

Apollo looked just as confused as they did but Phoenix replied, running a hand sheepishly through his ebony spiky hair "Trucy's gone to take care of something, Athena's gone to question Maya a little more and Iris is babysitting both Bella and the twins until the latter has to get up on the stand." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, closing his eyes in a relaxed manner "Ah, the perks of having loved ones working with you..."

Nobody spoke another word after that. However the silence in the air was so dense that it would take a huge fan to clear it up; one breath of it could soak one's heart in turmoil of what will be. This silence was excruciatingly painstaking. It was like having the stinger of a scorpion's tail jab right through the chest since nobody could utter a single sound from even the bottomless depths of the lungs and voice box. No one could predict how this trial would go or how it would end but Phoenix hung his head in a low nod to assure himself that everything would be fine.

It was then that a rough, feminine voice filled their ears and their attention was drawn to the doors to the temporary courtroom for Bella Fey. It sounded much like a nail being scraped up against the surface of a chalk board to their eardrums and it even made them each widen their eyes immensely, twitching irritably, and bite their bottom lips so hard that each of the bridges down their mouths were very close to bleeding. Even their brows quivered up and down along their twitchy eyeballs.

"Defense! you are to come into court right this second or else Bella Fey will be exiled instantly!"

Phoenix passed his grandson to Pearl when he vaguely heard what she said and with the sound of the rusty old hag's sand paper vocal cords, their ears still ringing from how loud and scratchy that voice was, they grasped what the woman (clearly taking the role of the Bailiff) had threatened poor Bella with banishment early. Both Phoenix and Apollo basically scrambled towards the door and barreled themselves into the makeshift courtroom so they could get this over with.

This was the beginning of their first trial on this adventure. As always nobody knew what to expect -not even the prosecution- so they had to ask themselves one thing:

What kind of Turnabout will this trial produce?

* * *

**A/N: Tada! We now begin the very first trial of this adventure. What will this bring and how will Phoenix and Apollo handle it, lets find out in the next chapter of "Rise of the fallen" and we shall see what kind of secrets unfurl and who the witnesses of this crime are. Also we get some awkward fluffiness from Apollo Justice and Juniper...eww. **

**Lets see what Phoenix, Apollo, Trucy, Pearl and the twins can find out about the events of what happened.**

**Don't forget to review and favorite.**

**-Chloemcg**


	31. Turnabout temple bells: part one

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The courtroom was forced into silence as the sound of a gavel banging against the podium echoed throughout the whole room. Everyone stood up, even those in the gallery, and Juniper spoke as she wore one of those wigs that judges normally wore.

Juniper put a gentle hand along her huge tummy, rubbing it tenderly on the top as she said while putting on a smile "Court is now in session for the trial of Bella Fey," she cranked her neck down to glance towards the defence bench "Is the defence prepared?"

Phoenix cleared his throat somewhat eagerly as he idly cradled his grandson in his arms with Apollo stood by his side "The defence is ready, ms. Wo-err, I mean your honour." He struggled not to call her by her occupational title since he usually called her by her maiden name as he referred her as that for ages.

Apollo yelled up towards her adoringly, ignoring the blatant fact that they were in a trial here "Don't forget to take it easy, sweetie!"

Phoenix would have face palmed if he wasn't holding a currently disgusted Kazam in his arms. He was getting sick of this lovey-dovey ness in more ways than one right now and he was sure that his grandson was getting sick from this too since every time his assistant done this in front of him.

It was like Apollo's smitten-adoration for his pregnant wife had taken a full hold of the guy and was making him come out with these cliché words of sentiment.

Actually, Phoenix turned his hair towards his red clad underling and glared daggers at him and he threatened with a sickened tone of voice "Apollo Justice, stop that otherwise I'll make you clean the toilets for a year." He shuddered with his head ducked in between his broad shoulders and he could feel the sensation of the hairs on the back of his neck standing up whilst it created a tingly feeling.

Apollo seemed to snap out of his lovesick mood at that threat. Even though it seemed minor, he hated cleaning the toilets so he really should learn how to button his lips when necessary. He shook his head quick and slapped his own forehead to get rid of this sickening lovesickness for his pregnant wife.

Kazam seemed happy that he was actually in a trial for once as he nestled warmly in his grandfather's hold yet Juniper looked down from above at the young boy and she furrowed her brows in concern towards the young boy as she questioned with her voice quite soft-spoken and rich with worry as she wiped some loose strands of her hair out from her eyes.

"Um, Mr. Wright, why do you have you're grandson with you?" She asked inquisitively.

Phoenix smirked sheepishly as he handed Kazam over to Apollo who took him without hesitation yet he too looked confused as to why the young boy was with them in the stand and not with Pearl like he had originally thought he was supposed to be with. Apollo rocked the young boy in his arms with a gentle look in his eyes as he heard his bosses' reply in one watchful ear.

"Well his mother's busy, Pearl is speaking on behalf of the defendant, Athena is also busy and I really don't um..." Phoenix felt himself become all hot and clammy as he chose his next words really carefully in an attempt not to sour the maids attitudes towards him and his teammates "...trust the maids here."

He knew that the maids were now glaring daggers at the both of them but Phoenix sighed as he rubbed his temples to relieve the oncoming headache that was sure to come and haunt him if he spoke anymore on the subject at hand and he spared a small look of pride towards his bouncy magician grandson before he dismissively waved his hand in order to brush off the subject at hand.

"Now that the explanation is outta the way, can we please proceed with this?" He suggested.

Juniper raised an almost stern brow towards the defence attorneys and decided to concede with this agreement but decided to lay down some rules as she looked at every single one of the people present in court with a look that Apollo would normally cower beneath as her eyes pierced sharply into the souls of each and everyone in the courtroom.

"Alright then, I give special permission to have the child stand at the defence bench but in order for this to be a welcomed choice and for the good of the boy everyone shall speak normally and without the use of bad words otherwise they shall be held in contempt of court." She sighed heavily in frustration "is that clear?"

Phoenix gave a simple nod "Understood your honour."

Simon also gave a nod as he stood on the prosecutions bench "Agreed your honour."

Juniper smiled, happy that she got that matter out of the way but annoyed with the extra hiccup in this case, and she nodded down towards Simon with a nod of approval to the prosecutor of this case. She felt happy that she was thinking of the well being of the children since there were two and a half here presently and one of them she herself bore. She happily rubbed her swollen abdomen as she blinked down towards Simon in agreement for him to start his role.

"Simon," she smiled "you may begin you're opening statement."

However Simon slammed a hand down on his desk, startling poor Junie out of her wits. Nobody except the defence saw this coming and it became clear what he was doing now as they just gave low glares to the twisted samurai for this.

Simon tapped a thoughtful finger to his head with a smirk as he said "Now, your honour, simply I expect you to be far more clever than that."

Apollo and Phoenix looked at each other with wide eyes filled with disbelief and then back to Simon and Juniper. Surely he wasn't going to...!

Simon, oblivious to the looks he was being given by the defence, simply continued "Think about it: a pretty young woman such as yourself delivering such an alluring opening statement that would probably make the children in awe of your words of wisdom and such. Wouldn't that be far better than a more bland opening statement from one such as me?"

The flower girl judge seemed to have fell for the "power of suggestion" technique as she played with her mud brown hair beneath her wig and a heavy blush came to her cheeks and tainted them a delightful cherry red colouration. She didn't need to ponder on it for too long as she looked up and held her hand in front of her mouth and tried to stifle a girly giggle fit and decided to concede with the prosecution for this case.

"Alright then, Mr. Blackquill." She smiled happily "I shall deliver a good opening statement."

Apollo and Phoenix simply stared at Simon in disbelief.

Seriously, did he just manipulate a pregnant woman that was in the control of hormones to his own will? How thick could a guy get to stoop so low!? Surely that should be against the rules but since Junie was actually seeming so happy with this -thanks to Simon's cruel joke- they didn't say a single word.

Yet Phoenix was actually thinking to himself with a long and miserable face (Dude, is there any lower you can stoop?...) and he didn't even want to get started with the fact that Apollo was practically seething silently beside him with Kazam in his arms, not that he could blame the guy.

The spiky-haired ace attorney would have felt the same way if his wife had been toyed with in such a cruel way.

Silently, Phoenix reached over and put a hand on Apollo's shoulder to try and calm his raging nerves. These emotions must have been the work of both a lack of sleep, stress for his unborn child, and stress about the case. He knew that lawyers were at their best when under pressure but this was just a bit below the belt for an attorney.

Apollo tensed a bit less under his touch and stared at his boss with big, hardened eyeballs. He frowned apologetically to both him and to Kazam before looking back up at poor Juniper who spoke admittedly nice and simply of the overview of the current case.

The poor girl must have really bought that manipulation power of Simon's...

Yet the lawyers had a feeling that it would take awhile before she finished tidying the edges of the roughness of the statement.

Apollo was more than happy to listen since he wanted to make his wife happy and he seemed to actually think that this statement was the best one he ever heard, mostly because the apple of his eye was the one saying it.

This should take ages...

* * *

However, just outside the temple, two familiar enemies were chatting outside about what their next moves were going to be as they looked each other square in the face while they whispered under their very breaths.

Kristoph spoke first as he looked directly at the Phantom of seven years past.

"Now, my friend," he began secretively, his glasses shimmering in the bright sunlight "I have planted the electrocution chip in Ms. Justice's ear and now she should feel a sharp sting every so often."

The phantom smirked evilly in response, rubbing his palms together in a sinister way. He had hoped his accomplice would fulfil his task and now it was time for him to do the same as he nodded expectantly "Good. But what about my mission?"

Kristoph tweaked his glasses just a bit but a smile pulled at his thinned lips. He was looking forward to that next part, actually, he couldn't wait until he had Apollo Justice's neck in his hands as he strangled the life out of that brat.

He simply nodded at the Phantom "You shall begin your mission shortly, but for now let's watch and see what becomes of my little stall with the child." He offered his hand out with a sly smirk on his face "...Shall we?" His voice dragged on the word "shall" with a certain elegance rubbing against it but there was also a hint of ice coating his words.

The phantom didn't hesitate and grabbed the supposed "gentleman's" hand in his while the two ducked beneath a window leading into the temple meant to house the current trial. Neither of them knew what was to happen with their plan or where it was going but they did have a good idea how this adventure was going to end:

With Phoenix Wright's blood spilt and his friends lying dead before him.

* * *

**A/N: Dun-Dun-Duuuuuun! **

**Oh the trial has started, Simon's avoiding the opening statement again whilst being a jerk face in the process and he's also making Apollo angry for messing with his wife. Neither Apollo or Phoenix was looking forwards to this trial and it seems that Alakzam has been roped with them.**

**It also appears that Pearl will be testifying on her daughter's behalf.**

**Oh the directions this trial could go...which path will this go down, and we find out what Kristoph planted inside Junie now! How mean! **

**Why was that inserted? **

**Find out! **

**Don't forget to review, everyone.**

**-Chloemcg**


	32. Important author's note

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

**Author's note.**

* * *

**Hey, guys.**

**Just to let you all know something that I really should have informed you of before to better suit the story since I had a review from an author named "FrenzyPearlFan" that asked if it would be better if Juniper gave birth at the end of the story and, after a lot of complenting, I decided to go ahead and change some parts.**

**Although I accidentally destroyed both chapter 19 and chapter 11 because I edited the wrong chapters by mistake and didn't save them. It was foolish of me and it destroyed my hope for the story for awhile so I deleted it (explaining why all of the original favs are gone) but after a nice review from "Ricardo the black hawk" I regained the confidence and decided to redo it from chapter 18 onwards.**

**Anyways I made some changes, guys. I know I originally made it so Apollo and Junie already had their child before but I decided to edit this a bit, that's why I took awhile in updating. **

**It was all a pain in the backside but I eventually made it and, adding to the surprise, I decided to change a bit about the birth too if you know what I mean. **

**If not I'll simplify it: I'm probably going to be changing Apollo and Junies baby's name to try and rescue the surprise from earlier. **

**Please forgive me for all the strife I put you all through. I just had a lot to do with school and all that. **

**But hopefully this should fix it all.**

**Thanks.**

**-Chloemcg**


	33. Turnabout temple bells: part two

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Junie smiled confidently as she began to speak the opening statement while her husband was so angry that he was blowing steam from his ears and sparks came out from his dagger-like narrowed eyes.

She was thankfully not aware that her dear Apollo was now seething and ranting about how he was going to brush his teeth with Simon's spine when this was over. Kazam simply watched as he sat on his unknowing half uncle's shoulder with eyes curious about every inch of the courtroom and that curiosity extended even to the makeshift gallery.

Phoenix had just burrowed his head into his own palms as his head lain down on the desk to try and hide the fact that he was thinking how Apollo was seriously considering ripping the prosecution into strips of long snakes of paper. He was still taking that the poor woman had been toyed with in her current state quite badly as he didn't exactly know what to say or do about the matter.

"Last night the accused, Bella Fey, apparently left the party with ms. Maya in tow. The pair wandered down into the cellar downstairs in the basement of the second Hazakura temple where the defendant seemingly assaulted the master spirit medium by smashing a bottle on her head." Juniper said with a steady yet excited voice that was so sweet and bubbly that it put poor Apollo to even more shame as he was still getting over that his poor little lamb of a wife had been played "Simon says" with.

She drew in a deep breath and continued "However, in my own opinion, she can't have really done it because she is only 2 or 3 years of age and was probably used as a pawn of this true culprit's trap. That's just me."

Simon shook his head with a sigh of depression. He had been reminded daily of what happened to poor Athena's mother all those years ago and couldn't still handle that the girl herself was framed for her murder. Sure Blackquill was Athena's legal guardian now but that didn't change the fact that he was nearly killed for it and poor Thena had the blame shifted on to her shoulders.

"Unfortunately," He said in his now hoarse deep growl of a voice "children have the capability to commit crimes, your honour, it has been a fact of life from the very beginning."

Everyone didn't need Athena's ears to detect the discord in the prosecution's voice. It sounded like the prosecution was hurting on the inside out because of what happened all those years ago, with that linked case connecting Polly and Thena as emotionalised victims of the incident whilst they each lost someone special to them.

Silence loomed over the entire makeshift trial until Juniper cleared her throat uncomfortably and decided to continue the opening statement before things turned dreadfully awkward here.

"Anyways the accused is now being charged with assaulting the master of the Kurain technique and the punishment for such a crime would have to be...banishment."

She sighed sadly at the fact that the poor girl was probably going to be banished for a crime she most certainly didn't do. It yanked at her heart strings at the thought of a little girl being cast out on to the streets for something as bad as assault. But, as her role as the judge, she had to be fair and not do favouritism even though she really wanted to be near Apollo as much as possible.

Simon seemed pleased as he tried to fight off that depression and nodded approvingly at the pregnant woman with a sword-sharp glint in his devious eyes "Nicely done, Ms Justice-dono. You're experience shines brightly like your enlarged womb whence exposed."

He smirked upon seeing Apollo smack his own spacey forehead in disbelief. It appeared that the man was either very cross or very ashamed of letting Simon do this to his beautiful flower girl and it was really tearing through like a worm wiggling through a very small burrow that was just a few micro inches long. He would have yelled at him but even he had to admit that this was a somewhat good idea since it would probably boost Junie's confidence level.

Juniper wiped a hand over a sweaty brow and she panted tiredly. She was still a bit under the weather so she was understandably changing temperatures on a whim, an annoying whim to say the very least.

She decided to move on without anymore delays as she dismissively waved a hand in the air to signal that it was time to bring out the first witness of this trial and which better person would that be other than the mother of the defendant who somewhat knew what was going on?

"Now without any further ado," She bobbed her head in approval "let's bring out our very first witness of this trial."

Phoenix, Kazam and Apollo were now broke from their dazes and now had their gazes locked upon the witness stand far in the right corner. What kind of testimony would Pearl bring? She was very loving of her daughter and vice versa but she could also be very protective of her little dumpling when worst came to worst, that much was clearer than the most transparent of glass.

She may lie or she may not.

Either way, the Ace attorney crew were going to blow her lies to bits when the time came as they were intending to work their way through this trial one step at a time and do this with care since neither of them wanted to face Pearl Fey's wrath. They were a bit afraid of letting her down mostly because of the fact that she could summon spirits down upon them all. Kazam would probably be an exception since he was a young child too and he was a bit too innocent to be haunted for all eternity.

Phoenix glared sharply at the empty bench as he grinned. He was actually feeling confident right about now.

"Bring it, Pearls, I'll be you're next opponent."

* * *

Athena waited with the twins just outside the office.

She was just waiting for the bullet analysis results on that bullet that had been discovered at the crime scene as she played with a bit of her long ginger hair as a rather pathetic way to pass the time. Both of her girls sat beside her with blank expressions etched upon their small faces, their uniquely coloured eyes painted in different colours as they stared at the ceiling while frowning boredly.

Luna whined as she crossed her eyes to amuse her sister in some way while her brows knotted together to paint a dazed yet semi-blank expression on her face.

"Mother when can that bullet go with us so we come to the trial?" She asked with a heavy sigh and she patted her own knees in deep thought.

None of the Cykes' knew how to react to all this, it was all rather confusing in all honesty. Athena knew that this was the girls very first trial with them and Apollo and Phoenix work together to solve a single case so this could be a very educational thing indeed. They all just watched the door restlessly as they awaited for a one Ms Aura Blackquill to come out and show them her findings on that bullet.

Athena smiled gently down at her eldest and rubbed her head teasingly "Soon, Luna...soon."

For awhile the trio sat all alone in the hallway with nothing to do but wait. They all knew that they would have to face this tension and suspense again really soon because of a certain flower girl who happened to be childhood friends and was the beloved of her co. worker so whether they liked it or not, they were going to be there otherwise Apollo would most definitely go psycho and school everyone.

Athena was now whistling a little tune as she sat in the hallway with her daughters and she couldn't help but wonder what if this was linked to their roles here. What if organisation Z.E.R.O had something to do with this travesty? She also couldn't help but wonder about that Morgan lady, she seemed somewhat bitter and sadistic towards Maya.

It was all a lot to take in all at once!

The yellow-wearing defence attorney's eyes lit up when she heard the door creak open. She, Luna and Star all looked at the door and found that Aura was walking out from the room behind it. She wore a very disturbing look of disbelief on her face as she wandered towards the three girls with her eyes wide and her complexion ghostly white as she clenched her pale knuckles.

Athena sensed an overflow of worry in her adopted sister's heart. Even more so the tone behind her voice was more proof of this.

Athena couldn't hear exactly what Aura was mumbling but she knew that whatever it was can't be good. She planted a gentle hand upon Aura's shoulder and she asked in a gentle voice as she rubbed it soothingly "Aura, what is it?"

Nothing was the answer. The former robotics scientist stuttered and stammered as she gazed down at the tiny bullet that was supposed to save the day and she seemed utterly defeated by this tiny piece of razor sharp metal.

Aura eventually calmed herself and replied something through a quivering voice that sounded so uncharacteristic of her. She was usually so calm and composed that it was difficult to picture the scientist in such a state, but here she was; so innocent and shaky with fright of the impossibility of whatever startling discovery she may have just made.

"I..." She stuttered while licking her thinned lips in an effort to moisten her way of talking "...I don't know what or how it is possible, princess, b-but..." Aura swallowed hard and she choked out the words as strongly as she could possibly shove it out of her system "I found _zero _rifling marks on that bullet."

Suddenly, at the drop of a hat, Athena's world had turned pitch black. Her heart froze and her eyes widened immensely as she allowed this to sink in like a lowly stone plummeting to the sandy bottom of the ocean. She could not move, could not blink and her train of thought had been completely severed and thus disabling all thoughts to flow within her mind and without.

Did she hear that right? There were no rifling marks on that bullet; no fingerprints, nothing!?

It felt like an eternity until the grown woman finally blinked and she felt her throat go all dry and scratchy so she could not speak at all. Her heart was now skipping the occasional beat as it hammered constantly inside her chest, making her complete and utter shock all the more apparent when Aura and the twins realised that Athena's mind had completely jumped ship.

"...N-N-N-N-No waaaaaay!" The red haired woman screamed in disbelief. She covered her head with her hands and buried her face into her palms as her breathing became erratic and hard. She began to hyperventilate as she tried to think of the possible reasons for this. Could someone have planted the bullet there, could it have been a fake? Whatever the reason, this was beyond comprehensible for anyone.

Athena Cykes felt useless now. Her daughters felt the same way. All everyone could think was this:

What was happening, why was this case falling apart!?

* * *

**A/N: Oh dear, it seems that the strange bullet that was supposedly fired at the crime scene turned out to have no rifling marks! How can that be?! **

**Can Phoenix, Apollo and Kazam sort out Pearl while Athena and Luna and Star try to get to grips and figure out another way to prove Bella's innocence? We will have to await the next chapter after this one, I suppose.**

**I would love to ask, however: whose your fav character and what's the funniest moment in this fanfic? **

**A recap here, I have already changed the faulty chapters and I hope you enjoy the slight remake I had done with those other chapters which I had mentioned in my other chapter A/N. **

**-Chloemcg**


	34. Turnabout temple bells: part three

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Pearl stood at the stand with a mangled look on her face.

Nobody could describe the face she made underneath Phoenix, Apollo and Kazam as she breathed silently to try and make herself seem even more non existent than she was already. The poor woman's eyes were red and puffy from crying and she now had really dark bags under her eyes as they sagged lowly from the bottom rims of her usually sweet eyes. Her pretzel-shaped hair was also quite scruffy in a very unusual way too.

Simon Blackquill nodded firmly towards Pearl with a somewhat sympathetic glint within his eye "Witness, your name and occupation. Now."

Pearl shuddered fearfully as she hung her head so low that shadows casted a quarter of her face so only her saddened left eye could be shown to everyone in the temple court. Her breathing seemed noticeably shaken and rattled as she sniffled.

She reluctantly responded to the prosecution's gentle demands "...Pearl Fey, second heir to the Kurain channeling technique and mother of the defendant." She hugged her own arms tight as she grabbed at the cherry blossom pink sleeves of her stylish kimono.

Phoenix and Apollo seemed surprised by this. Poor Pearl seemed to have now hit rock bottom when earlier she was filled with this fiery raging determination! What has gotten into her, didn't she realise that her child needed her? The woman shrunk back fearfully as she hid herself behind the witness stand and there was a childish fear shining in her innocent pools.

Phoenix curiously fiddled with the single spike acting as a fringe that grew on his black and greying spiky hair. His mind was stilled with focused thoughts and mumbled queries as he tried to process this all, especially the fact that poor Pearl was probably worried sick for her precious little girl. This was truly a strange turn of events.

(...What's gotten into her?) He thought to himself as he brushed a fingertip to his stubble-laden chin. His deep blue eyes wandered thoughtfully up towards the ceiling.

He just couldn't understand this.

Apollo too was confused as he glanced towards Pearl worriedly. He also subconsciously brought Kazam close to his chest encase he got scared all of a sudden, a look of great concern crossing the young man's face as he peered over his boss' shoulder to get a look at the first witness of this trial. He watched, intrigued, as Pearl sunk down lower and lower into the bench.

Juniper seemed to have noticed this too and brought out her personally-designed gavel that had a beautifully carved handle with little flower gratings that put all other amateur wood carvers to absolute shame. She banged it to rid themselves of the heavy silence that had just befell the entire faculty.

"O-Order," The florist coughed nervously as she tried to steady everyone in the room and prevent an outburst "order in the court!"

Pearl shuddered weakly and looked up apologetically at Juniper before she nodded with a serious face. Her mind was completely blank and there wasn't an ounce of expression etched on her lips except for all the strife she had to go through thanks to this petty little incident.

Junie appeared to have understood and she raised her gavel again before banging it once to make herself known and to bring in an air of seriousness to her decision. She spoke with a slight firmness, sort of like the tone she had adopted during that case with the Themis illegal academy "Alright, witness, you may begin you're testimony."

Kazam, Phoenix and Apollo glared in defiance. They were not going to be brought down by some simple testimony, weather it would be entirely irrelevant or not. They were born ready and always will be whence in the midst of such a tense atmosphere. The ace attorney team would be fine without a doubt.

Pearl regained her composure and straightened her posture as she bit her bottom lip to prevent herself to cry another tear. She looked like an absolute mess, to put things mildly. She was ready as well but needed to be questioned gently.

The younger member of the Fey clan began to speak with a steady voice and her testimony rang in everyone's ears as the Ace attorney team hung on to her every word "I don't know who wanted to harm mystic Maya, whoever it was probably done it by accident or something." she moved from standing straight to lowering her head into the shadows a second time "...I-I can't see how on earth someone would do such a thing and I can't think of any reasons why they would hurt her. I know it wasn't my dear child, though!"

Nobody could believe what they were hearing -even Simon was shocked! Was Pearl renouncing her previous testimony, why would she do that!?

The whole entire crowd in the gallery broke into a loud bustle for some reason. It wasn't like she said something all that surprising, so what on earth was going on here? Maybe it was just beginning-trial-nerves kicking into high gear that could crumble everything around them. Even that suspenseful air that Juniper managed to partially dispel had evaporated into thin air and spiralled into chaos.

Juniper, while rubbing her huge belly in anticipation, once again banged her gavel down to try and break the ice that froze everyone over in that one fell swoop. She broke into a sudden coughing fit, like she always did when she was stressed, and tried her best to shout over everyone but this proved in utter futility.

"Order in the c-court!" Her voice turned high pitched and quivery as she closed her eyes and lowered her head, looking like she was about to cry.

Apollo held a shivering Alakazam close and his eyes screwed shut while he gritted his teeth angrily. He couldn't believe that nobody was listening to his dearly beloved and that made anger bubble inside the pit of his stomach up to the overprotective coils of his pristine soul. He couldn't hope to explain it but a sudden anger surged through his mind like a bullet slicing the air as it soared and he lifted his head up towards the ceiling, shouting as loud as his chords of steel were allowing him "SHUT UP, THE LOT OF YOU!"

...And with that there was silence.

A silence that flowed through the air that had tension so thick that one could merely slice it with a mere kitchen knife. Nobody dared to break this silence as they were just surprised about that massive outburst that shattered everyone in the gallery from their sudden frenzy and all eyes were on the voice that caused this.

Apollo panted from the outburst and his face gradually softened from a furious one to a much more patient and kinder one. He drew a long breath as he slowly turned his attention towards his wife whom wore a stunned face but she soon smiled in gratitude towards her husband and blew him a kiss -making Apollo blush where he stood- and continued as she cleared her throat gently.

Juniper rubbed her huge baby belly tenderly and continued with a calm tone of voice "Alright then" she nodded down towards Phoenix "you may begin your cross-examination-!" However it was then that a familiar voice shouted a powerful **"Objection!" **that once again left everyone speechless.

Everyones attention was snatched from Juniper to Simon who gave a sly look of smugness as he slammed the prosecutions desk with a smirk on his ghostly white lips, the dark circles spread around his eternally-narrowed eyes even more so as another air of tension took to the air in the makeshift courtroom.

Simon straightened his back and he said with a whip of his long, overgrown locks of hair "...If we are to question this woman, then I suggest that you take caution in doing so." He glared deeper as he pointed a spear blade towards Apollo and Phoenix, the pointy piece of metal dug in-between his fingers as he curled his fingers into a fist.

Phoenix tilted his wise head to one side. Just what was the twisted samurai talking about?

Simon clarified with a low and dangerous voice "She appears to be deeply grieving about something other than the defendant's actions, an inmate I met in prison had told me about a witness committing suicide right there in the courtroom because of how a real "wolf in disguise" had tricked him right by using the illusion of love and made the poor chap drink poison."

Phoenix gasped and his eyes lit up in recognition and he gawked at the prosecutor he was supposed to be battling against. Was this tale of what he thought it was...!? It couldn't possibly be his mentor's first trial with Dahlia Hawthrone, it had to have been another case that sounded freakily similar to the one Simon had described as Mia Fey's very first case.

Although this had nothing to do with the apparent case...why bring it up? Luckily Apollo had caught the drift and he pointed out with a knowledgable look lighting up on his face. He pointed a random finger up into the air and his brows knitted together to paint a look of reminiscence on his facial features.

"...And I pressed a client named Vera Misham so hard that she bit her nails that had been poisoned by Kristoph Gavin." He lowered his head momentarily as if ashamed by the memory before he lifted his head back up and spared a sideways gaze to his boss filled with meaning behind it "We need to be careful, Mr Wright, otherwise we can push Pearl into an abyss filled with certain despair and insanity."

Phoenix looked back at Pearl on the stand and she was in a right state.

The poor woman who seemed perfectly sane earlier was now crying non-stop tears as they slipped down her cheeks. Her eyes were filled with tears as the whites of her innocent eyes were all red and streaked with crimson vein-shapes and cracks to mark them in bloodshot.

Phoenix took a deep breath and decided to take it easy on her, knowing he could probably tip her over the edge of sanity if he pushed her too deep into a corner.

He could do this.

* * *

**A/N: Awww poor Pearls. She isn't coping with this trial and now Phoenix is risking shoving her into a corner and driving her completely bonkers. We also get more over-protectiveness from Apollo Justice as he works alongside his idol, scaring all in the gallery senseless.**

**Speaking of Apollo, I realised something. I might have figured out who Apollo's biological father is: Sean "Bat" Dingling from Turnabout big top! ****I know he was in a coma but its possible! He and Apollo look very much alike, it's almost as if they really are related and Bat is also a circus performer.**

**Anyways, what do you think of my theory?**

**Stay tuned for the Cross examination next.**

**Please review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	35. Turnabout temple bells: Standstill

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Pearl swallowed as the cross examination had begun. There was no denying it she was nervous but she couldn't try and hide it. To feel all those eyes on her was daunting to say the least but she repeated her testimony nevertheless, deeply confusing Apollo and Phoenix even more than when she told her initial testimony.

"I don't know who wanted to harm mystic Maya, whoever it was probably done it by accident or something."

**"Hold it!" **Phoenix yelled as he stared right at Pearl with eyes sharper than a pair of pliers. He was perfectly aware that Apollo too was glaring at her but didn't pay much heed to it since he had a job to do.

He asked steadily "What makes you think that, mrs. Fey?"

Pearl shuddered worriedly. She was hesitant to answer that in fear that she would be find out, knowing full well that lying to Phoenix was pointless because of that Magatama he wielded much like the trusty blade a knight carries with them when they go off to fight valiant battles of old.

"...I-Its just my opinion, Mr Wright." She lied through a quivering voice.

Phoenix raised a thick skeptical brow. He could tell that Pearl was lying through her teeth in a desperate yet poor attempt at concealing the truth. It wasn't like she meant any real harm but she was obviously in great distress because of this and needed some calm words of encouragement or else be at risk of suffering a huge mental breakdown.

Maya would kill him if that happened.

The spiky-haired ace attorney thought up his next words with utmost careful consideration. He needed to talk her down from the brink of madness and this was the only way to do it. He asked her very slowly "Do you really believe that?"

Pearl said nothing but glanced down towards the floor in shame.

It was easy to tell that she was suffering within. The younger member of the Fey clan was always innocent at heart and was always rebellious towards her mother in the cutest way imaginable, this was such an odd behaviour but it was to be expected that she would be upset because it was her sweet little 2 year old daughter being accused.

Without an answer, Phoenix dismissed this and moved on to the next bit of this cross examination.

"...I-I can't see how on earth someone would do such a thing and I can't think of any reasons why they would hurt her. I know it wasn't my dear child, though!"

**"Objection!" **

Apollo yelled as he stretched his neck forwards a little with his eyes softly narrowed, a huge frown on his face. He wasn't any less confused than his boss was but that didn't mean he couldn't pick up on a couple of things since he had trained himself to suddenly spot a small habit just a microscopic moment before the nervous tic began to show itself to his Kinetic vision.

He wore a very calm face despite the fact that the tone he had used seconds ago was anything but. He drummed his fingers against the wooden surface of the defence bench to parrot a catchy beat that got tangled up inside his head.

"...When you said "I can't think of any reasons why they would hurt her" I noticed the subtle yet noticeable habit that shows you fumbling and fiddling with you're Magatama necklace and you're fingers twitch too."

Pearl seemed shocked by this revelation. She was even inclined to give a startled gasp as she stared worriedly towards the ace attorneys.

She was totally afraid of what she would give away now. What could she do, who could she trust? She didn't know anymore! The only one she talked to about this was Mystic Maya and even then that wasn't much help since her mother was a criminal.

She hung her head and sobbed sadly as her mind drowned in hopeless confusion.

Apollo continued through a softer expression as he looked like he just wanted to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay "Please, _pearl__, _if not for us than for you're cousin and you're daughter...they need you to be honest with the court." He sighed and asked as gently as one possibly could "Now then. You know who hurt Bella and why, don't you?"

After that a silence shook the courtroom.

A poisonous silence that hallowed throughout the whole temple.

Nothing was said, nothing was done. There was only that disturbing silence that drowned everyone in the makeshift courtroom and the only sounds that were mellow enough to be heard was the constant breathing of the gallery and everyone's rather loud heart beats.

It was that quiet.

Pearl was the one who stayed mostly silent. There was an air of nervousness around her as she breathed in a stale breath and sighed a long sigh that dragged on for what felt like an eternity. She wrung her sleeves worriedly and hung her head low, closing her eyes in deep regret.

Finally she cast her gaze up towards the Ace attorney crew and spoke meekly "...I might do but I might not, I-I can't say."

Apollo was confused. This case was the hardest to solve, without any witnesses willing to testify and the lack of evidence was very concerning. They didn't have much of a chance with this case!

Phoenix and Apollo looked at each other in deep confusion. What could they do, how could they make a good turnabout with this trial!? It was downright impossible with this one, they might as well give up. This was totally unorthodox of the famous Ace attorney team since they always win a case, it was really uncharacteristic of them.

But what choice did they have?

However before either of them could act, a shrill scream filled their ears and it made their blood run ice cold as they quickly whirled on their feet and were filled with horror of what they saw. Nothing could prepare the Ace attorneys for what they were about to see right there on the Judge's bench and neither Apollo nor Phoenix wanted to see it ever again.

Juniper was crying out as her skin was becoming very clammy and sweaty and electric sparks zapped from all around her body, her eyes bulging so that they could easily pop out from their sockets. She bared her gritted teeth painfully as she doubled over sorely, her pupils shrinking from the intense pain she felt rushing through her body.

Simon was clearly alarmed by this as he gave a simple yet hurried hand gesture for the Bailiffs to help the poor woman who was obviously going through an electric shock that shock her whole delicate body like an earthquake.

Apollo rushed to help his wife as his fatherly and husbandry instincts kicked into high gear. He gritted his teeth out of pure fear if what was happening to his dearly beloved, sweat dampening his own face as his two spikes of hair drifted down over his gentle yet considerate eyes.

"J-Juniper, I'm coming!" He yelled urgently as he rushed to his wife and caught her just in time as she fell from the high bench and plummeted heavily into her husband's waiting arms as Apollo nuzzled her still form to try and get a response from her weakened face.

She breathed a small breath to let Apollo know that she was alive but that didn't make him feel any better.

Apollo threaded his arm around Juniper to hold her up. He breathed worriedly yet he forced a reassuring smile to his lips "Its alright, sweetie, I'll take you to Aura and see what happened to you." He stroked her head softly to try and assure her that he was there before he hurriedly carried her out the temple whilst the court broke into a loud chatter.

Phoenix however felt the world around him go dead. He could not comprehend this at all, this was supposed to be a simple trial -nothing too serious- but now this had to happen. He didn't know what was going on anymore, let alone to anything to comfort his worried grandson who Apollo had lowered to the ground just after he ran to his wife.

He simply grasped Kazam's hand in his own and looked into empty space.

...Nobody knew what was happening anymore.

* * *

**A/N: OMG!**

**JUNIPER'S BEEN ELECTROCUTED AND APOLLO HAD TAKEN HER TO SEE AURA WHILE PHOENIX AND ALAKAZAM ARE NO LONGER SURE WHAT IS GOING ON! EVERYTHING TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARISH TIME BECAUSE OF ORGANISATION Z.E.R.O AGAIN!**

**...Anyways now you know what that thing Kristoph put inside Junie's ear was.**

**It was something that electrocutes her.**

**Will this trial ever be finished? **

**Lets find out in the next chapter.**

**-Chloemcg**


	36. Life on a tightrope

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo's eyes hardened as he stared intently at the little screen that would show his unborn child in a few moments, tears threatening to spill down his face.

He was afraid needless to say, after all his wife had just been electrocuted somehow during an unofficial trial. The attorney at law had rushed his wife, Juniper, into Aura Blackquill's temporary quarters so she could examine her thoroughly for any severe injuries that could potentially harm both her and the child she carried in her womb.

Aura had carried out an examination on Juniper and deduced that other than a couple of bruises from the literal shock she had received that she would be fine whence she regained consciousness, but the scientist also discovered a very small device had burrowed into the flower girl's eardrum and attached itself to a very delicate nerve.

Now she was performing an Ultrasound to examine the unborn infant that would hopefully be unharmed from the shock but Apollo was warned to prepare himself for a miscarrige.

Apollo prayed inside his mind over and over that both Juniper and his son/daughter would be fine, that they'd be tougher than all else.

When the screen revealed a strange silhouette of a little thing floating in a light pool of something; Apollo felt tears sting at his eyes and he felt a soft gasp stab him in the throat and he was stunned into silence. He fought back the urge to run a gentle finger along the screen and touch the projection of the tiny being's minuscule stubby hand.

It took a few long moments of impatient waiting for a sound but Apollo heard the sound that he had been waiting for, the gentle fluttering that made him trade for tears of fear to tears of joy:

A heartbeat.

Now the adult red clad attorney felt all his confidence return. He no longer felt afraid of the majority that the blessed flesh of his flesh had perished because of that deadly electric shock that Juniper had suffered on the Judge's bench.

That threat had passed at least.

Apollo wanted to jump up and down in rejoice but shoved the urge to the back of his mind as he instead glanced towards Aura with his brows knitted together in concern. From what he could tell, the elder sister of the twisted samurai was just as relieved that the baby and Junie was alright but there was a certain worry on her expression and the source for that worry was clearer than crystal. It didn't take long for Apollo to guess at all.

He gently lain his hand upon Juniper's, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance, as he looked at the former space scientist with a confused sword-like glint shining inside those deep brown pools of his that reflected his emotions better than anything else.

"...What do we do about that device we found?" He asked steadily.

Apollo watched as Aura turned from the scan, keeping the paddle gently pressed against the flower girl's stomach, while she looked to Apollo. She had done a video analysis hours beforehand and discovered something shocking in a small video that had been taken during the night of the Ace attorney team's arrival and Apollo and Junie's stay in the medical wing. She could still not believe what she saw.

"And how did it get there in the first place?"

Giving a reluctant sigh, Aura began to show the red clad attorney the answer for those the latter question. She whirled on her feet and kept the paddle for the ultrasound pressed against Junie's abdomen and turned to another screen that actually shown a recorded video of Juniper and Apollo in the medical wing whilst alseep together.

A small yet intimidating figure crept into the image and stood over Juniper's bed with his back turned to the camera. Apollo's eyes narrowed intensely as he instantly recognised that figure as his former mentor but didn't dare say a word as he watched Kristoph Gavin eventually take a little something out of his pocket before planting it on the pillow beside Juniper's head. He seemed smugly proud of accomplishing his goal, something which made Apollo all the more angry.

Anyways the small device Kristoph had planted beside Junie's sleepy head began to quickly drill into the woman's ear and with that she began to writhe and squirm in her sleep to not only which Kristoph abandoned the scene immediately but also the Apollo in the video awoke moments later.

Now the young man didnt know what made him angrier: The fact that not only did Kristoph plant an electrocution chip in his pregnant wife's ear or being angry at himself because he allowed Kristoph to get away in the dead of night.

Apollo growled deeply and fought the urge to stomp his foot from pure anger. How dare that evil man do such a thing, endangering an unborn baby and _his _unborn baby no less! He put a hand to Juniper's cheek in hopes to wake her but didn't want to force her awake when she didn't want to, after all she was very angelic in her sleep. She just slept peacefully under her husband's gentle yet tender touch.

The darkness of the room also made it easy for Juniper to sleep her cares away.

Apollo smiled gently, feeling his anger wash away, and gently moved his hand off of Juniper's hand and smoothed his hand downwards until he was touching the woman's huge and round belly and he gently stroked it while he felt a warm grin embrace his lips. Now he felt proud of not only Juniper but his child too. He was always proud of them both since they were both so brave and deserved a ton of respect for their bravery and for sticking this nonsense out.

He laid his head down on Juniper's baby bump and planted his lips softly upon it as he kissed it tenderly, adoring his growing unborn child for the miracle it was, and he also crooned some whispered endearments for his son/daughter-to-be.

He was looking forwards to meeting his son or daughter, but even more...he was looking forwards to being a father.

* * *

_Meanwhile outside of the room..._

Phoenix, Trucy, Kazam, Iris, Pearl, Bella, Athena and the twins all sat outside. They were waiting for a report on Juniper to see if she and her unborn could survive such a strong electrical pulse that she had pushed through while on the bench the Judge usually sat at. They were all worried sick.

Simon was even so concerned that he ordered some search parties for anyone who could have done such a thing. He may have treated Athena like a little sister but he also extended that love to Juniper since he had known her since she was a sickly little girl too, he wouldn't admit it but both her and her family were his family too as far as he was concerned.

Athena sighed worriedly as she stared at her boss "M-Mr. Wright..." she swallowed heavily "do you think Junie will be okay?"

Phoenix said nothing but he simply just sat there with Kazam and Bella being bounced on his knees. He stared at the door with thinned wiry brows and he even ran a hand through his black spiky hair as he could feel a slight paranoia pour into his conscience and he even grabbed each side of his hair in anxiety while he breathed through heavy pants.

"I don't know whats going on anymore, Athena," Phoenix said and he flashed a fake smile to his underling "B-But I think Ms. Justice will pull through."

This warranted skeptic looks from Luna and Star as they knew he was doubting himself. Athena too could sense it as she pointed out with a scorn wore on her face "Boss, don't lie to me: I can sense the fear in you're voice."

"We can too." The twins picked up.

Phoenix hung his head and rubbed his temples irritably. He couldn't lie to anyone here, it was fact, but that didn't really stop him from trying to pull the wool over the yellow-wearing lawyer's eyes. He also felt that lingering presence again and it was this presence that made him feel the utmost unease because it felt...strangely familiar. Vague, indeed, but familiar. Why this was, he could not say but the ageing blue-wearing Ace attorney could certainly feel these strange stalkings.

It was as if he was being watched intently.

He admitted reluctantly "...Somehow I know someone's there. Somebody is watching us intently as if they are waiting for the right moment to strike us down." Everyone latched on to the attorney's every word even though his tone was soaked with a strange sense of wisdom and paranoia. He sat hunched over and his deep blue eyes wandered from left to right as if in search for something -or _someone _for that matter "I can feel their killer instincts waiting to tear us into shreds and leave us to the ashes left over from their merciless oncoming storm of destruction."

Athena and Trucy looked at each other disturbed.

Phoenix was getting very specific and somewhat poetic with his reasonings behind what he was saying. They couldn't have him inadvertently scaring the children out of their wits! He heaved a shaky breath and he hugged his strong arms to fight off the tremors that shook his spine like the ground in an earthquake.

He opened his mouth to speak another word to say more on the matter but Trucy slapped a hand to her adopted father's mouth. She watched her father's face turn from morbid to shocked and surprised. Phoenix gave a small swallow as Trucy sent him a stern scowl as if to order him to stop speaking about these chills he had.

Athena's sapphire blue eyes lit up when she recalled something and she removed that troubling bullet from her pocket and gave a long sigh to rival Soloman Starbuck's somber sigh that spread a blanket of depression over those around him.

She glanced sideways to the rest of her team as she crossed her legs nervously while sitting on the hard chair that leaned against the wall aligned with the others who were seated on identical chairs "I also found out the analysis about that bullet we found at the crime scene, guys..." She swallowed a stone sized lump that formed in her throat "...th-there's no rifling marks to be seen or traced!"

Trucy's face went pale and as did Phoenix's.

Neither of them expected to hear this. A bullet was found at the crime scene but there was no trace of the gun it was fired from!? That was so useless and just made the outlook on their case all the bleaker.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-whhhhaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Phoenix stuttered, his hands now trembling.

He was so startled that he almost let his legs buckle underneath the two young children he had been bouncing on both of his knees. He managed to recover, however, and grasped them close to him before they could fall under his floppy legs.

Alakazam and Bella didn't say a word as they were squished in the older lawyer's grip and had a slight difficulty breathing on their own thanks to Phoenix accidentally squishing their airways. They let out strained moans and groans and Trucy had to tap her father's shoulder to get his intense death-grip on her son and family friend's daughter to loosen up.

Phoenix reluctantly released both Kazam and Bella and let them down so they wouldn't be accidentally strangled to death.

Alakazam asked in a soft yet sweet voice as he glanced innocently up towards his grandfather with huge, glassy eyes that twinkled in the faint sunlight beaming through the windows "What are "rifling marks" Grandfather?"

Phoenix opened his mouth to answer that but Trucy done it instead as she scooped him up into her arms softly and sat him on her loving lap, fastening him in her hold as she looked down at him with a soft motherly expression.

That kind of face always made people's hearts warm instantly with this sentimental joy and to the Ace attorney team, they were no exceptions.

Trucy smiled warmly down at her young son and tapped his nose as she answered his query "A rifling mark is sort of like a fingerprint except in bullet-style."

Kazam didn't say a word after that. He seemed confused about what a gun was in the first place but nobody dared answer that one since they couldn't expose such a young child to these types of violent conversations.

It was beyond wrong and downright inappropriate.

For what seemed like hours everyone waited out in the hall for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Nobody knew what to say or what to do since all of their thoughts were cast towards the trial that had been halted thanks to this little upstart and towards poor Juniper. She had seemed very upset thanks to that thundering bolt that coursed through her delicate body while in this more-fragile-than-glass condition.

Apollo seemed to be the most fearful for the situation and rightfully so, his family was nearly put in jeopardy and maybe still in jeopardy! Anyone would be frightened under those circumstances...

However they all glanced up at the sound of a doors hinges clicking open and found a tired-looking Apollo opening the door with his cheeks damp from crying, his eyes a bit red and puffy and his horns of hair had drooped a little over his eyes while sweat dribbled down his spacey forehead.

The poor man looked both relieved and a bit worried at the same time.

Apollo spoke softly and through a strained voice "Juniper and our child are okay for now,"

This warranted a huge sigh of relief from everyone but it turned out that Apollo wasn't finished speaking as he added something very firmly.

"But if you wanna come in then be very quiet, Juniper's asleep and she doesn't need to be woken up right now."

Slowly Athena stood up to her feet, being very careful not to make much noise, and she crept towards Apollo and exchanged a silent glance to him before she wandered into the room behind the door and Apollo looked mutedly towards everyone else.

Everyone said nothing but sat on their chairs in defiance to leave.

It was as if they didn't want to disturb Juniper but didn't want to leave either. If Apollo wasn't both afraid of everything else and angry with himself then he would have smiled at his friends. But he didn't and slowly shut the door behind them while everyone else waited for their turns to see the poor mother-to-be.

But they couldn't help but think that something was lurking just behind the corner.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, Juniper and her baby is fine! **

**Maybe they are just made of something stronger than fate but, despite this, Apollo is still worried and who could blame him? He nearly lost his family for the millionth time.**

**Poor Polly and Junie. **

**That and we find out that Organisation Z.E.R.O is hot on the Ace attorney's tails again.**

**Can they still save Bella despite this bleak outlook? And can they do anything to change everything around in their favours? **

**Find out next time in chapter 37 of "Rise of the Fallen"!**

**-Chloemcg**


	37. Turnabout temple bells: Reconvention

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Soon everyone was back in the temple where the trial should take place except the defence was joined by four more people and those were Trucy, Athena, Luna and Star while a frightened little girl was standing at the witnesses bench through violent trembling.

Pearl Fey, the girl's mother, simply stood a little ways behind her daughter with a worried expression. She still looked a little bit uneasy but she had recovered most of her sanity and she had fixed her pretzel-shaped hair up to look more presentable. However she was biting her bottom lip from fright as her gaze constantly flicked from the defence to the prosecution, making her unease all the more visible to everyone in the makeshift courtroom.

Juniper reclaimed her place up high in the judge's seat but now some Bailiffs were standing by her side to help her whence she experienced yet another electric shock like earlier. She looked sort of drowsy but she continued on regardless as she slammed her gavel down on the podium officially with a softened expression etched upon her face.

Sighing to herself to recompose her posture, Juniper said in a soft-spoken yet surprisingly loud voice "The trial of Bella Fey shall now reconvene." She spared a quick glance down to her worried husband at the defence attorney bench and then peered back up towards everyone else in the gallery and even to Simon while she was at it "...Last time we learned that the mother of the defendant, Pearl Fey, had been adamant on not revealing the master mind behind this."

Simon nodded to confirm this. He was uncertain of what was going on but he was going to pull the truth out of that girl even if he had to yank out one tooth at a time. He wasn't usually mean to children but he decided that the truth was imperative so he was going to do whatever it took.

Juniper returned the nod and she glanced to both sides.

"Now then, are the defence and the prosecution ready?"

Phoenix nodded with a renewed fire of determination shining like exploding fireworks in his eyes and he slammed a heavy fist on the bench with a curled smirk "You're honour, the defence was never more ready!"

Simon gave yet another dip of the head and gave an equally confident smirk "I am ready as well, you're flower-ness."

Juniper smiled. At least after that previous disruption her friends and family were still in fighting spirits and that made her happy. She wanted to do nothing more than to say how joyful she was with her life right now but knew that this was a bad time to say such sentimental corniness.

She looked towards Bella whom timidly hid behind the stand despite everyone being able to see her and being stood atop a cardboard box. Her eyes were huge and glassy as she looked like she was going to cry a genuine river of worry and fear, a two year old's feelings were very fragile so Phoenix needed to be very delicate when asking the accused.

It was like questioning Pearl again but for a totally different reason.

Juniper cleared her throat and asked as gently as she could "Witness, tell us you're name and occupation."

Bella's frightened look twisted into one of confusion. She innocently looked at Juniper as if she had just been told that the dead were walking again, it was a very darling look too.

It didn't take long until Apollo saw the problem with the little girl answering the question and he clarified his wife's question so even the child could understand the request. He chuckled a bit under his breath and he simplified "Bella, what my wife means to ask is "What's you're name and what's you're job?" alright?"

Bella's face brightened into a faint smile and she meekly replied to the question she had been asked while she continued to try and hide herself from the eyes burning into every part of her small body.

"...I-I'm the next heir in line for inheriting the Kurain channelling technique. I'm two years old and aiming for three."

Juniper spared a grateful glance to Apollo before continuing. She straightened her back to sit up as she glowered down softly to the defendant in this current case yet she gave a very tired sigh as she shifted her position to better cradle the growing infant she carried within.

She spoke again yet her voice was coated in worry "Yes, but we need you to testify about who you spoke to before the crime occurred."

Bella seemed both surprised and frightened. How could she possibly know about seeing someone before the crime, nobody could leak such information without her knowing about it, could they? She didn't know what to so she could make a remark to this but she buried her face in her sleeve to conceal the face of shame she suddenly wore.

Juniper nodded to the defence "Alright then. You may start telling us you're testimony, defendant."

Phoenix smiled thankfully. Now that he had some new information, along with the testimony that Bella gave earlier even though it had been written on paper by Star, he would surely get a better grasp on this situation. It was almost hopeless but they might as well try or else be haunted by this forever...literally.

He looked towards Bella whom began to quake under all those eyes falling on top of her. She cowered under those intense glares and whimpered out of pure fear.

Yet, despite this, Bella nodded in agreement. While she was adamant on not revealing what really happened and who was involved, she was ready to explain a tiny clue to who they were...or at least something similar to a clue.

The testimony went underway and Bella explained in a never-changing, shameful voice that showed hints of sadness and even fear.

"...I was summoned by someone to meet them alone. I got a bit lost, though, so I waandered around for a tiny bit."

Again she mispronounced "wandered" but nobody seemed to care right now.

"I eventually ended up in a dark, scary place where I couldn't really see. I couldn't even see this person's face but they said nasty words to me, orduring me to lead Mystic Maya into the cellar."

This time she mispronounced "Ordered" but it couldn't be helped. She was only a little thing, after all. Actually nobody could deny the fact that this was too sweet to not find cute.

Bella continued "B-But then I...I hit her, Mystic Maya was hit by me!" This time she burst into tears right there on the stand and left everyone dumbstruck.

Nobody knew how to react to this and see a young child cry such rivers of tears, Athena decided to make a move and comfort her like her motherly instincts drove her to but she stopped when Pearl had hastened up to her daughter and held her tight to comfort her.

Apollo and Athena could tell that Bella was lying about the fact that she hit Maya, but there was something peculiar to the way her tone changed from relatively normal to somber within the blink of an eye.

It was almost like she was...!

Suddenly an objection rang like a bell through the temporary temple courtroom and it was clear whom it belonged to. This voice was too deep and rather suave to not recognise as this person, that much was plainly obvious.

"**Objection!**"

All eyes were now focused on Simon who slammed his fists down upon the desk and he almost roared "Enough of those crocodile tears, defendant, and answer to this court truthfully!"

"**Objection!**"

Another voice yelled out but the source was from Phoenix this time as he glared harshly at the twisted samurai and he pointed right at him with his trademark pointing stance and he shouted "Simon, she's only two years old! Don't badger her!"

Juniper slammed her gavel down on the podium to stop their argument in their tracks and to reserve order in this court like a judge should do in such situations. She glared at Simon and at Phoenix individually as she wore a rather motherly scorn on her face "Now, now, guys..." She scolded much like a mother would with their child if they got caught with a hand in the cookie jar "don't quarrel like that and let the poor little thing speak."

It was evident that the flower girl was going through a major mood swing even after being electrocuted by a chip which had been implanted inside her ear canal. It surprised Phoenix, Athena, the twins and Kazam yet Apollo and Trucy were the only ones who weren't shocked by this since they knew exactly what "perks and quirks" pregnancy would bring.

However Bella, mopping up some stray tears meandering down either cheek, sobbed and sniffled when her cries came to a stop. She looked at the defence attorneys apologetically, it was as if she wanted to tell the truth so badly but couldn't because of whatever the restriction the killer made her go by.

Athena noticed something when she replayed the girl's testimony back inside her mind and replayed the tones of voice she used each and every time during that fishy testament she had told the court.

There was something that stuck out there...something that Apollo nor Phoenix would pick up via their abilities.

This was a job for Analytical Psychology!

Juniper, oblivious to her friend's epiphany just now, banged her well-detailed gavel against the mahogany Judge's stand she peered down at the room from. "Alright, the cross-examination may begin." She glared towards Simon sternly and reminded him "but remember my warning: no bad-mouthing, otherwise you'll be held in contempt of court."

Simon nodded his head concurrently. It wasn't like he could argue with a heavily pregnant judge undergoing mood swings, anyway. He might as well roll with it.

The second cross examination of this trial began without a second of hesitation and Pearl had lowered Bella to her feet.

The real challenge begins now.

* * *

**A/N: Oooh, it all begins now. **

**We haven't seen our villains yet. Why is that, you may ask? Well I think you'll find out soon enough and there will be fun times ahead for the Ace attorney team. **

**Also, hopefully, everyone will work together and rescue Bella. And it all begins with Athena, will her idea work? Will our heroine manage to turn this trial upside-down just like Apollo and Phoenix would? **

**Will Bella be acquitted?**

**Find out in the next chapter!**

**-Chloemcg**


	38. Turnabout temple bells: part four

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Athena sighed deeply before pressing Widget's smiley face icon and within moments a blue screen materialised right before her eyes and she used a finger to scroll sideways through Widget's databank and tapped in a few coordinates whilst she was at it.

Apollo, Phoenix, Kazam and Trucy all looked to their left while Athena and the twins each stared at the strange little holographic screen projected in front of Athena and Luna and Star. Apollo, Star, Luna and Phoenix knew instantly what was going on but Trucy was skeptical and Kazam didn't have a clue to what was happening at all.

Athena spared a quick little glance towards Bella and prepared to sort through her emotions. She didn't know what she would find but she was determined to see what she could do to help out, she was itching for a little courtroom victory since their turnabout into fugitives.

She just wasn't one to let a case slip by!

So, without a single sign of reluctance, Athena peered into the screen and she saw multiple things while Star and Luna peered over her shoulder to get a glimpse of their mother's technology and Apollo, Phoenix and Trucy done the same except from the opposite side of the defence attorney bench. She was hoping to get a good acquittal with this.

**"I was summoned by someone to meet them alone."**

A small picture of Bella appeared and she appeared to have been reading a note of some sorts, a tiny frown on her plump little face. Here, there was a surprised marker flashing to show that she was feeling surprised about receiving the note although she had her eyes squinted as if she was having trouble reading the letter at all. Wasn't really surprising since she was still learning how to read, being so young and all.

It was a little bit unnerving how increasingly stressed her voice was becoming in Athena's special sense of hearing. After years of using her special power in court she had learned to maximise her ears depth reception and therefore her powers were also heightened to a grand extent of how far one could push themselves to get the ultimate result.

**"I got a bit lost, though, so I waandered around a bit. I eventually ended up in a dark, scary place where I couldn't really see."**

Suddenly the image changed to that of a frightened Bella wandering through a near pitch black corridor while she held a small Japanese lantern in one hand. There were tears in her eyes as she glanced around fearfully for the person who had summoned her, no doubt. The sad marker and surprised markers reacted to this one.

(_Hmm_...) Athena thought (_there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary_.)

Hopefully the contradiction would be in the next parts to come...

The red-haired attorney's sapphire eyes lit up upon seeing a little something unnatural in the next part, hopefully she could snuff it out and discover the reasons behind the unexpected emotions. That was the main reasoning behind her big debut a dozen years ago!

**"I couldn't even see the person's face but they whispered nasty words to me, orduring me to lead Mystic Maya into the cellar."**

The picture changed again but this time it was of Bella with the silhouette of a pair of lips in very close range to her ear and the child in question looked both shocked and rather sad as if she was being told to do something bad. But the mood markers blinked as frightened/sad, confused/surprised and there was a small hint of happiness/joy.

Athena was shocked. What was happening here? It couldn't be that she was happy about committing such a heinous crime. No, far from it. What if she wasn't happy about the attempted murder but maybe she was happy yet frightened about seeing the mastermind behind this crime? Sadly they had no evidence to back it up... But they couldn't just sit there and do nothing while someone dangerous is on the loose in this very temple!

Athena decided to come back to that one as she side-scrolled a fourth time and examined this last image of Bella's emotional state and this time the picture shown the girl crying buckets of tears as she sat on her knees while they seemingly buckled out from underneath her.

**"...B-But then I...I hit her, Mystic Maya was hit by me!"**

She lifted her head to the sky and wailed loudly although thanks to the picture, this image was just like the other images she seen through Widget: stilled and completely silent.

Athena couldn't help but feel bad for this poor girl. Bella had most likely been used as a pawn throughout this whole scheme and she was taking all the whacks for the coward who had pulled all the strings in this fiasco and now she was suffering for it.

When she looked to get Phoenix and Apollo's opinions on the matter she noticed something: they were too busy looking over at Pearl and Bella with hardened eyes as they each wore a hidden scowl while they bit their bottom lips to try and suppress the obvious urge to maim the person responsible the second they were revealed.

But could you really blame them?

Phoenix would, no doubt, be put out like a light because he was just really sensitive when it came to children. There were three things he found inexcusable in his personal opinion:

Betrayal, poisoning and using children to tie up loose ends.

That last one was the one that made the spiky-haired ace attorney's blood boil and skin crawl from rage. He loved children, especially Trucy whence he first met her, and that same love also stretched towards Alakazam. In other words, these tactics made Phoenix rightfully angry at this whole case but only from the assailant's view of all this.

Apollo was also understandably furious for the situation at hand. He was going to be a parent himself soon and because of that, seeing such a young child on a witness stand like this would surely make him grimace or probably even set him on a fiery rage.

Right now, probably anything would make him mad because of how stressed he has become now that his child's birth date was at hand and how worried he was about the whole "chased by world-wide evil elite spies cliché".

This would probably help soothe his mind a bit but there were no guarantees.

Luckily Trucy seemed to have been on the ball and replied with a meaningful grin on her lips as she fluttered her deep sea blue eyes "Alright, Athena, it seems that Bella is afraid of the mastermind behind this and doesn't want anyone finding out for some reason."

Athena nodded. As always, Trucy was quick to the point and never misses the mark. Seriously her mind was tantamount to that of a newly-honed fencing sword that had just been ready to be tried in a battle of wits and of agility. It was much like her knife throws which she liked to perfect on Apollo when she was in the mood and when he wasn't busy with a case.

Luna, too, nodded her head in agreement and added "If we poke enough into that testimony hard enough then maybe she'll come clean."

Athena smiled. Trucy and her eldest daughter had a point there. She had to be careful about pointing this contradiction out, everything had to be played gently in this trial since there were such delicate elements sprinkled here and there with a dash of animosity. This was very unpredictable, so much that you could slice the thick tension in the air with a knife.

She gazed back at the screen and scrolled from side to side to have a double check of the mood markers and which one was suspicious. She smirked confidently and clicked the mood marker showing happiness on a certain statement and shouted fearlessly and boldly as she pointed her finger much like her boss does when he finds a contradiction.

"**Objection!" **

Everyone's gazes were on the yellow-wearing woman and she exclaimed "Bella, when you said "I couldn't even see the person's face but they whispered nasty words to me, _ordering_ me to lead Mystic Maya into the cellar" did you feel a certain happiness or joy?"

Everyone gasped in surprise, even Simon. Why would a little girl such as her feel any sort of joy when she's face to face with a potentially crazy person so insane as to hatch an intricate plot or something like that?! It didn't make any sense but they awaited the answer patiently as Bella sunk low into the bench with a very shamed look on her otherwise sweet-as-pie expression.

She gave a very timid nod in reply and shrunk even lower when the lady asked in a surprisingly gentle tone "What were you feeling happy about, sweetheart?"

Bella trembled fearfully as she slowly tried to answer. She was so afraid, there was no denying that, but the way she looked so dull and ready to give up was so heartbreaking. It actually brought tears to Phoenix's eyes as the attorney team all looked to the poor little thing.

She forced the answer from her dry, scratchy little throat as she grew very nervous and teary-eyed again "...G-G-Granny M-M-Morgan somehow escaped her hiding place and h-hugged me b-b-before whispering some things i-in my ear."

And with that the crowd burst into an uproar.

Not even the team saw this coming, was she actually admitting who the mastermind behind this was, how did she even escape her cell which Bella called "her hiding place"? That was most likely a cute nickname for Bella to use since she would probably be too young to understand the harshness of being in a cell.

But still...this was HUGE! Morgan Fey, the mother of Pearl, was now a suspect!

But many questions raised from this, one of them being:

How did Morgan manage to hit Maya's head with that bottle if she was back in her chambers at the time?

However the noisiness didn't last for long since a familiar voice shouted something to quiet down everyone and it was done before Juniper could even move a finger to her gavel.

**"SILENCE!" **

And with that, everyone's attention shifted from Athena to Prosecutor Blackquill who was smirking devilishly as he tapped his pale white forehead to emphasise his dismissal. He chuckled hushedly under his breath and looked to Athena with a cheeky glint in his eternally tired eyes.

"Now, now, Athena. Surely you can do better than that." He smugly teased, in a rather brotherly way.

Athena thinned her brows irritably over her eyes. Just what was Simon getting at here? She couldn't even hope to fathom it until he explained it himself. All she could so was make a sound of confusion so Simon could clarify what he was saying.

The twisted samurai done as requested as he gave a swing of her black trench coat and his trademark hand-to-scabbard for Ninjatu-pose "What I am saying is simple: Where is you're evidence to back the accused claims? After all, evidence is everything in a court of law."

Athena was startled. Did Simon just cut her theory into microscopic pieces!? Why did he have to ruin the mood here, she thought she was on a role! She should have known better than to just assume that he would let her have that.

Of course it was his job to say that, but Simon must have been enjoying this. She could understand that it had been ages since they had a courtroom battle so he must have been using all advantages just like the good old days.

Sadly Juniper agreed as she hung her head and slowly shook it.

"I'm sorry, Thena," She frowned "but prosecutor Blackquill is correct. Evidence is everything in the court so if you have any proof to support what young miss Fey is claiming than we would love to see it."

Athena felt a stone sink to the pit of her stomach. Why did she have to open her big mouth like always without really thinking of the dire consequences?! Suddenly something rose up inside her throat, preventing her from talking, and she uttered some sounds in a poor attempt at verbally communicating again.

Apollo and Phoenix tore their gazes away from the witness stand and were too at a loss for words so they couldn't help...much to their dismay. Everyone on the Ace attorney team felt helpless now, unless a miracle happens and Morgan Fey barrels into the room to prove Bella's point then they (again) didn't have much to go on here.

The children were even silenced and poor Pearl just watched helplessly as she looked at the Ace attorneys pleadingly. She knew that look in Phoenix's eye. She hoped she was wrong and it was just a fixture of the light or something but it wasn't, Phoenix had that glaring look of total defeat.

"...M-Mr. Nick, please..." Pearl uttered in dismay.

Was this it? Was her young child going to be cast out into the world on her own? She choked a gasp. This just couldn't be happening and she couldn't even make her voice work to dare utter an objection. She wanted to break down and cry as Simon no longer had that look of smugness but instead wore a look of grief and empathy. Everyone looked disheartened by the fact that nobody could do anything to turn this around, not even Athena!

Phoenix sighed dejectedly. Was this how it ends, was this the second trial he ever lost? Where was Mia when he needed her, his team couldn't carry on like this!

However he felt a small voice asked "Granddad? Wh-What about Bella?"

Kazam looked up at his adoptive grandfather with glassy round eyes that actually broke Phoenix's heart just a little more. His grandson always viewed him as a hero of justice and someone who saves innocent people from bad fates and puts the real villains behind bars, no matter their intentions, and because of this Kazam may never view him as such again.

The spiky-haired attorney at law sent an apologetic glance to his small grandson and hugged him tightly in his arms with the most morbid of frowns plastered against his lips as he simply turned his face away from the witness stand. Phoenix was ashamed of himself, if he couldn't save Pearls' daughter then what kind of lawyer was he?

...He believed in his client -he always would- but nobody else did.

What would happen if his best just wasn't good enough?

"...You're honour." Phoenix strained to speak and he looked up towards Juniper sadly.

He didn't need to say anymore since it was all written on his face. It would be forever burned there in everyone's memory, that look of pure regret and shame.

Junie took absolutely no pleasure whatsoever but she understood and raised her gavel readily. She squeezed her own eyes shut and felt her voice squeak out the words she so desperately didn't wish to speak in a very annoying high pitch voice that would only exist if you were about to cry from mere sadness "Th-Then I hand down my verdict as..."

There was a long pause that spread through the air like butter on toast. For our Attorney heroes this pause lasted for what felt like a whole millennium as they awaited the final blow to their confidence and they all squeezed their eyes closed tightly in preparation.

It should be coming anytime now...

**"OBJECTION, I OBJECT!" **

And suddenly Maya tumbled into the room whilst she and a certain chief prosecutor both wrestled a struggling Morgan into the courtroom, barrelling through the doors with a loud bang that shocked everyone.

That objection came from Edgeworth!

Both himself and Maya flung the older woman to the floor and stood back-to-back defiantly to block her path so Morgan couldn't worm out of the room like the snake she was and they both glared down upon her coldly.

Maya, still wearing her head bandage, tied her Aunty Morgan's arms up with rope.

The ace attorney team all lifted their heads the moment those three came into the room.

Maybe this was the miracle they were in so dire need of!

Could the intrusion be their saving grace?

* * *

**A/N: OOOOH, THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE! **

**Phoenix and company almost lost their fighting spirits but have now regained their court momentum so they can rescue Bella, probably. **

**Let's see what else happens next and can Edgeworth and Maya provide the turnabout needed for these dark times?! **

**Lets find out in the next chapter!**

**-Chloemcg**


	39. Turnabout temple bells: part five

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

"E-E-EDGEWORTH!?" Phoenix exclaimed, pure shock leaking into his voice as he stared at the scene taking place right before his, and everyone else's, eyes.

Maya gnashed her teeth while she pushed her hands down hard against Morgan's tied-up hands to prevent her from breaking free of her binds and prevent disaster from striking. She could feel some of her head bandage begin to unravel as she and Edgeworth wrestled the detestable older spirit medium to the marble floors below.

Morgan struggled through the tight hold both her niece and chief prosecution. She couldn't believe this, she only left her chambers for a minute and this was the kind of treatment she got!?

Edgeworth seemed almost pleased to have gotten the upper hand on this fight. He grit his teeth whilst he tied a final knot in Morgan Fey's binding and kept her on the ground by lightly pressing the sole of his posh shoe against the woman's back and observing her every little squirm to escape like she always done to avoid the law.

This time she was getting her time, that was a vow.

The chief prosecution glanced up at a surprised Juniper who only stuttered in between coughing fits whilst she glared at the scene in contrast yet there was a shock reflecting inside those delicate brown irises of hers as she demanded in an almost quiet voice "Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you doing here!?"

Edgeworth bowed his head as if agreeing to explain this intrusion. He owed Wright and the court that much since it must have seemed very unorthodox of him to just come crashing into the room with the victim and potential suspect. He gave his trademark gentlemanly bow and decided to reply.

His suave words were soaked with utter and complete curiosity as he tweaked his glasses "...What do you think I am doing?" He chuckled light-heartedly while shaking his head "I am pointing the finger of justice in the correct direction."

Some voices began to rise up from the gallery after the magenta-wearing prosecutor had said these words. He seemed so daring yet so bold by sticking to whatever truth he had uncovered whilst on his own and whatever this truth was it seemed to have something to do with Maya and why she was suddenly out of the infirmary.

The nurse maids said that Maya was supposed to have an escort when out of bed otherwise she could fall and hit her head again. That clearly wasn't happening now, though, as Edgeworth was the only one keeping her company when a maid was supposed to be a more logical choice.

That and she was now wrestling the alleged suspect for her attacker on the ground so that couldn't be safe for her, either.

Apollo, Trucy and Athena said nothing to comment on this sudden turnabout. Was this the big break they were looking for!? Nobody could even hope to understand what was happening now since this had all happened too suddenly.

Phoenix, however, smirked. This was what he wanted all along and this was his chance to turn things upside-down!

"Mr. Edgeworth, do you mind telling us where you found her?" He asked Edgeworth with such a confidence sharpening his tone as he narrowed his eyes and pointed towards said chief prosecutor.

Edgeworth seemed more than happy to oblige. He placed a warm hand to his own chest and placed it against the broad, strong upper mid section of his body which was the part that mostly housed his white cravat. "Heheheh, why, Wright, that is partially what I came to do."

Phoenix furrowed a black, wiry brow at his rival while he looked perplexed.

Partially, did he say? There was another reason for his being here at this very moment...? Hmmm, surely that should be looked further into but now was not the time to be asking these kind of queries but instead he should focus on discovering what really happened to poor Maya earlier.

It took awhile but a Bailiff had managed to wrestle Maya away from Morgan and pull her aside towards Trucy and the others who tried to calm the riled up master spirit medium down and to keep a very close eye on her encase her head begins throbbing again from the smash it took earlier.

Slowly, Miles Edgeworth picked Morgan up and dragged her over to the witness stand, fighting against her struggles to get away.

The Ace attorney team just watched in awe of what was going on. Edgeworth just boomed into the room out of thin air (not in a literal sense) with Morgan Fey who had previously downright refused to come out of her chamber hidden deep within the temples of this place, kept secret by the shadows and finely brewed into an enigma.  
Now he had snatched the wicked lady and basically forced her on to the witness stand while Pearl and Bella backed away into a corner fearfully in an attempt to dive out of the way.

Edgeworth answered the question as he flung her on her feet just behind the witness stand, being careful not to hurt the woman despite his animosity towards her, and he looked back at Phoenix while motioning for some guards to watch over the door to make sure that Morgan wouldn't flown the coop while his back was turned.

"I had discovered the slippery serpent of a woman in the infirmary. She was chasing ms. Fey with a knife in hand" Edgeworth brought out a slightly bloodstained blade for emphasis "and she had cornered Maya until I managed to get to her in time."

Phoenix could hardly believe it. So Morgan tried to put an end to Maya's life during this trial, did she? He could actually imagine that the detestable former heir of the Kurain technique had managed to sweep all the nurse maid's off their feet and made them fall unconscious, seeing as the people of the channelling technique didn't fight others, before attempting to go after Maya.

He also noticed a slight amount of blood seeping through Maya's head bandage which was thankfully visible despite being tied on top of charcoal black hair. It was probably from where Morgan had probably knicked her when Maya tried to escape her would-be-killer.

Apollo glared coldly at the woman and leaned forwards as he gritted his teeth, all his anger directed towards Morgan "H-How dare you! You used an innocent child to take the rap for you're crimes, didn't you!?"

It was clearer than glass. The man with the two thorns of hair was now going into what Athena dubbed "Apollo-daddy-mode" and he was growing very intense as his shoulders hardened like steel and his hands clenched into fists. Even his bracelet seemed to shrink very slightly around Apollo's wrist from how tense he had suddenly become!

However, ceasing her futile struggles, Morgan simply sneered at the defence attorneys bench and folded her sleeved arms across her chest, wrapping her kimono just slightly because of the long sleeves that fished about in the air loosely.

"...Maybe I did but maybe I didn't." she said vaguely "If you really want to worry about anything then I would put first priority upon that weak, stupid creature you call a wife and that pathetic excuse of a child you love so much."

Apollo was taken aback. Did that woman really insult his wife and unborn child, was she really trying to get under his skin? Well it was working since his eyes flashed from moderately mad to fuming with rage. Even his thorns of hair altered in shape to match that of some very small -yet twisted- bull horns.

The way Apollo had his chin buried in his Adam's apple to hide his face and exposed his hair in such a way actually made him resemble a bull that was just about to charge.

"Why you-!" Apollo warned threateningly beneath a lowly growl but was stopped by Athena who decided to intervene quickly before her co. worker's over-protective attitude kicked into high gear.

"Don't you dare get at Apollo's goat like that, lady! And don't even THINK about talking about my best friend and godchild like that!" Athena yelled while pulling the man aside and she stomped her foot angrily while glaring daggers at the older lady.

An evil grin manifested upon her crackled, painted-in-crimson lips.

Morgan loved tormenting her enemies. It was something she had picked up whilst staying in that cell for the past while, living in the comfort of shadows and darkness without much light to keep her sustained.

However Simon had decided to intervene, knowing exactly what this lady was doing, as he tossed a small blade towards Morgan.

She quickly side-stepped out of the way and was silenced as she heard the blade pierce the stone slabs of the pillars supporting this very temple. Yet the creepily contented smile was still worn on her lips as she glared at Simon.

Everyone in the court had gone deathly silent.

Prosecutor Blackquill looked up towards Junie and gave a nod of approval as if to say "go ahead" and he had a somewhat calm look on his ghostly white face "You're feelings on this, you're honour?"

Juniper took her time in mulling the idea over inside her mind. She was sort of hurt by that mean comment made by Morgan yet she kept a level head through this thought process and she nodded back down to Edgeworth.

"Chief prosecutor Edgeworth, you may continue."

Edgeworth smiled gratefully before he tweaked his glasses eagerly. He faced back towards Morgan with a sharp look in his pale blue eyes, Morgan only able to get a look at his profile as the man paced back and forth in front of her.

The man seemed awfully thoughtful as he placed a hand to his chin while the other hand was behind his back. He hummed as he listened carefully to the loud clicks he made with each step he had made, those clicks echoing through the thickened stone walls of the temporary courtroom.

The silence was unbearable.

With a lick of his lips to refresh his speech, Edgeworth continued "Whilst I had cornered her I managed to barricade her path with Ms. Fey's assistance." He gestured to Maya who was smiling in a very modest way as she fluttered her eyes closed in an attempt to disguise her expression filled with sheepish reaction.

Trucy held Kazam tight as she looked surprisingly stern. Of course its natural for all living beings to get upset or even lose their momentary calm composure but for Trucy, of all people, to get upset or even cross then surely that would take a **lot **of effort. She currently resembled a cornered cat protecting her kittens from other strays.

"No use denying it, Morgan Fey, you're cornered!" Trucy glared.

Kazam also scowled, in a very cute way, and he added "Yeah, tell the truth you meanie!"

Morgan's face became twisted as she slowly cackled. Her balloon-like, poofy hair was becoming frizzy and her wrinkled eyes were twitching with an unusual mix of unease and a loss of sanity. She became twitchy and tugged at the sleeves of her kimono as she snarled sharply "Where's you're proof, fools? For this to be confirmed you would need the admission of the defendant or someone close!"

Phoenix growled. She had found a loop hole, Bella was the only one who knew what happened but it seems that Morgan had found a way to keep her silent. That was why she was acting so desperate to tell the truth but reluctant to do so. She probably also blackmailed her own daughter, Pearls, to keep quiet about her attempted killing of Maya.

Phoenix, Apollo and Athena all looked pleadingly towards Pearl and Bella.

The poor youngest members of the Fey clan said nothing but looked sad at each other. They seemed to be at a major loss of what to do! They could not tell the truth, even if they so desperately wished to with all their might.

However Luna called out assuringly to the pair, knowing exactly what they were fearing "Mrs. Fey! Bella! Nothing will happen to either of you, in spite of what Madam Morgan told you, you will be perfectly safe as long as we're around!"

Phoenix and Athena gasped and looked to the twins. Luna seemed extra determined -that was so plainly obvious- but Star shared that same look as both of their teal and magenta irises sparkled with this inspiring spark of persistence and unwilling to give over.

Whatever Luna was talking about, seemed to have calmed Pearl and Bella down! They both actually looked like they were getting increasingly confident in confessing the truth and it seemed that the girl's reassurance was getting through to the both of them.

Yet Morgan still had more to say.

**"Hold it!" **

Morgan scorned at her adult daughter and her granddaughter and wore a now crooked smirk on her ageing face "Pearl Fey, don't you dare! You're daughter will be cast out anyway, I will make certain of it!"

**"Objection!" **

Apollo jumped in on the action, seeming a lot less tense then before, and he rebutted her filthy and subtle little blackmail attempt "You will _not _harm a head on that sweet little girl's head! We'll make sure of it!"

He slammed a fist on the desk to assist the effect his Chords of steel have on that rebuttal he had just made as he scowled viciously at the spirit medium, his eyes resembling that of a defensive wolf dog protecting its prized territory. He even growled a little!

It was Simon's turn to join in as he pointed right at their caving prey, Taka flapping his mighty wings in preparation to attack her, and he yelled through that deep and posh voice of his "Morgan Fey, you _will _tell the court what you know or so help me-"

Morgan actually felt terrified. For the very first time in her life, a twinge of fear coiled around her soul and clouded all remaining feelings of confidence she had been tossed in here with. She had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, she couldn't evade capture even with her spiritual abilities.

She backed away towards the door but only for the bailiffs to block the door readily encase she tried to escape. She froze in her tracks when she realised that running would be an action most futile.

Desperately, she glanced pleadingly and twistedly to her daughter and granddaughter one last time but they both had their fears sucked dry.

Pearl held Bella in one arm and pointed in a way just like Phoenix would did and yelled as loud as her lungs would allow "The one who assaulted Mystic Maya was-!"

But...she didn't get to finish that sentence.

A sudden large quantity of little metal balls fell to the floor from above, releasing a thick fog, that had took the room by surprise. There was no surprise what they were, these were smoke bombs! They looked very expensive too!

Everyone coughed from inhaling the strange mist but they fell deeply woozy when certain people inhaled too deeply.

Luckily, some people had the sense to pull some of their clothing up to cover their mouthes and noses. Some of those people included: Edgeworth, Simon, Phoenix and Pearls.

Phoenix was startled. Where did these come from!? How did they get there!?

He quickly scanned the room out of panic and could vaguely make out the forms of silhouettes hiding amongst the mist that had filled the room and some even had the lucky advantage of having their faces covered but there was something that told Phoenix exactly who these guys were, something that frightened him beyond all else.

These crooks must have been members from Organisation Z.E.R.O!

Phoenix squinted his eyes to make out the beings sifting through these fogs and clouds that literally clouded his sight. He couldn't see a thing!

"M-Maya, Apollo, Athena!" He yelled through his panicking, whipping his head about frantically in search of his loved ones. He could vaguely hear the sound of Edgeworth's voice as well and Pearl and Simon's. He could hear some other familiar voices too but he was too focused on the about-to-be accused: Morgan Fey.

He could hear some quiet whispering but not much else.

Before he could register much more, the fog cleared up and he was met with a very disturbing sight:

Morgan had gone!

His breath was hitched in his throat as he took this realisation in and he blinked many times to see if his old eyes were playing tricks on him. Yet every time he refreshed his vision he was met with the exact same scene that would be classified as a living nightmare.

The spiky-haired Ace attorney swallowed hard.

Was this real!?

(_...Oh you have to be kidding me!) _He thought to himself with dread.

* * *

**A/N: Cliff hanger! **

**Phoenix and company finally cornered Morgan and were about to get a conclusive ending, including the motive, but then she disappeared. **

**You might be thinking: Why didn't Z.E.R.O just take Phoenix and company during that smoke bomb distraction? **

**Well it wouldn't have been easy to grab them with a swarm of mist, would it? **

**Anyways we see next where Phoenix and company go next. Yay!**

**...Also yay for half term!**

**Please review! **

**-Chloemcg**


	40. The conclusion of moving along

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Soon, hours after that unofficial trial, the Ace attorney team stood outside the new Hazakura temple with everyone standing outside to see them off.

The sun was setting against the ablaze orange Japanese skies as day turned into a fair evening that actually brightened the somewhat confused atmosphere that had ate everyone's minds away about the trial and everything else earlier.

Edgeworth shook hands with Phoenix and he informed him "We did a search of Morgan Fey's room and uncovered that she was an accomplice of Organisation Z.E.R.O" he turned his face away and sighed distastefully "that old hag actually seemed very vague of what was coursing through that twisted mind of hers, even her journal was very telling that she didn't trust anyone what-so-ever."

Phoenix nodded. He could hardly blame Edgeworth for this, after all a trial had gone horribly wrong and the real culprit for Maya's assault had been Shang-hai'd into the whole deal and had vanished into what seemed like thin air. Something had been bothering him, however, as he asked with his inquisitive head on one side "But what about the assault on Maya and the crime scene?"

Edgeworth tutted. He should have expected that "Well, Wright, while Morgan told little-to-nothing about her works with Z.E.R.O it had been made abundantly clear of what had happened the night of Maya's assault."

Everyone listened with open ears.

Apparently Morgan had this nasty little plot all in motion for awhile. Whilst she was locked up she had combed through her room for an escape route so she could slip within the room and without it. She eventually found a way out of the room and summoned Bella, via note and somehow manipulating Taka, tricking her to come into a darkened hallway that would be accessible for her.

Morgan instructed her granddaughter to lead Maya into the wine cellar and then she would request that one of Z.E.R.O's top agents would whack her across the head with the handle of an actual gun. The trigger must have gone off when she was smacked along the back of the head and fired a bullet that luckily seemed to have ricocheted off a few things and landed along the floor.

Whichever gun it was must have been special because it left no rifling marks.

Anyways, according to Bella, she actually suggested a bottle of some nice grape juice and held the bottle out to Maya but was shocked to discover that Maya had been knocked out along the wall which was just moments before Phoenix and company arrived to the scene.  
Morgan then blackmailed Pearl into doing something to Bella if she told anything, being as sharp as she was after she figured everything out.

When Chief prosecutor Edgeworth had finished explaining everything, all was silent.

Nobody spoke a word since they just tried to absorb the details of that scheme. The trivial details must have come from Edgeworth's own logic, which seemed to have made sense since he had done quite a few investigations in his time.

What he deduced all added up perfectly!

After moments of agonising silence, Athena finally broke it and slapped a hand of disbelief to her head as she tried to allow the realisation to sink in. "Wow..." her breath swept away with the wind "that's a very complicated plot!"

Edgeworth nodded in agreement, fumbling a bit with his cravat "Indeed, ms. Cykes, but Morgan's diary does not lie."

Maya stumbled forwards with a plain frown on her face. She wondered what would happen now with everything that had been going on. Now the Hazakura temple #2 had been at risk as Organisation Z.E.R.O knows of their location and could just come in the middle of the night and take a lot of hostages!

However Simon read her concerns like a book and assured her surprisingly, placing a hand on the master spirit medium's shoulder "Do not worry, Master Fey" he craned his hand in a bow "the Fey clan masters, nuns and yourself shall be protected by the precinct under Chief Edgeworth's orders."

Phoenix was surprised. Somehow Miles seemed very well-prepared for this! He knew when to arrive, he managed to piece together a crime scene with that awesome expertise of his and that almost electrifying wisdom he had so powerfully wielded much like a blade.

It was a wonder how he registered so much...

Regardless, the spiky haired attorney smiled gratefully at his childhood friend. Since he was a child at play, he had known Edgie quite well. Even then Edgeworth wished to have been well-prepared for everything, he even aspired to be an expert at playing the flute...which he was now!

He had spared a small glance to his compadres and noticed the dire looks on their faces. While they were all still in a bit of a daze from the affects of inhaling the sleeping induced fog those smoke bombs released, they still seemed eager to get moving.

Iris had already approached Phoenix with a timid smile and before he could even utter a word to her, she quickly pressed her lips against his softly and quickly caught Phoenix off guard. He quickly melted into the passionate gesture and even returned the kiss as he too pressed his own lips against hers.

Phoenix and Iris shared this sudden lovely sentimental gesture and didn't dare break it off. They couldn't deny the fact that they actually liked each other despite all these years of uncertainty about one another.

"Wright, you may want to consider getting a room."

Phoenix curiously opened his eyes and looked at a smirking Edgeworth who seemed satisfied. Was he waiting for this to happen?! He didn't seem like the type to want to wield a bow and arrow of lovey-dovey feelings but he did seem like the guy who would point destiny in correct angles.

By himself.

Phoenix looked around and noticed that Apollo, Trucy, Juniper, Athena and the children were all looking at him with wide-eyed glares that silently scolded him for kissing someone in such a mushy manner like this. Even Pearl seemed disappointed while Bella giggled in a delightful satisfaction upon seeing Phoenix display such a warm amount of love for the innocent nun he had grown to know.

Well, Apollo and Juniper could have their sweet movements so why couldn't he!?

Iris pulled away, blushing a bright pink as she smiled sweetly. She said softly as she grasped Phoenix's hold softly, the grey and black-haired beauty looking at him with unbridled adoration.

"Feenie, please be careful on you're journey. Keep yourself and you're friends safe." She said softly as her eyes stared right into Phoenix's deep blue ones. She could feel her heart bursting as she felt her shoulders be grasped gently by the spiky-haired lawyer and she looked deep into his eyes that would normally be filled with fiery determination but were currently filled with compassion and wistfulness.

Phoenix smiled at her "Don't worry, Iris, I'll keep them all safe. I wouldn't do otherwise."

His voice was filled with that same passion that filled his eyes each and every time he stood at the defence attorney bench. He was determined to keep those close to him safe from harm, he would feel hopeless if he didn't do that. However, while he felt a bit nervous about the task, he didn't back down -he couldn't.

He feared that Trucy and the others would view him as a selfish man.

The hobo-dressed Phoenix Wright backed off to join everyone else, every other word he wanted to utter stuck in his throat. He was a bit worried about his "family" but he didn't want to imagine the terrible things that would no doubt worry everyone else later on.

Athena decided to ask a very good question while she hugged Star and Luna close to her as if they would just float away from her at any moment "But where do we go from here?"

Once again Edgeworth had the answer as he fiddled with his ruffly cravat whilst wearing a smug grin on his lips, his face twisting in pure confidence "Why that's a simple one. I have organised a little trip for you to Borginia with prosecutor Gavin and my partner, the great thief Yatagarasu."

Apollo swallowed and rubbed at his bracelet anxiously as his face went five shades of pale within the course of two and a half seconds "...Great thief!?"

Edgeworth nodded and chuckled lightly upon seeing Apollo's reaction. He did find it amusing, knowing that the man did actually have a problem with thieves since the whole "Nine-tales vale incident" because his bracelet had been almost pilfered a few times in a sneaky and painful way. Poor Apollo Justice, he must have been very protective right now.

However he decided to dispel some of the young man's worries before they got too bad "Hahaha. Now don't get those horns of hair knotted, Mr. Justice, she doesn't steal anything but the truth."

Edgeworth knew this person also stole items that were rightfully hers but didn't wish to share that.

Juniper hugged Apollo close to her in order to calm her dearly beloved down a notch and she kissed his forehead repeatedly. She also wrapped her arms gently around Apollo in a snug hold so he would ease up instead of getting tense from the worry he had for something like his prized bracelet being snatched away from him. She could even feel Apollo's pulse drum against her.

The flower girl had everything with her husband covered but Trucy decided to ask a question to ensure that they bumped into the supposed thief and she wore a look of perplexity on her face.

"But what does she look like and where do we find her?" The Ace magician asked while she bundled Kazam in her blue cape. She did look rather fearful of what would become of her family but didn't wish to drop a load of worry on to their shoulders needlessly.

Edgeworth gave his trademark bow to the team of attorney's, smirking confidently, and he pointed towards the right of the temple where a patch of lush jungles awaited. Over the palm trees and abundance of vines and other jungle life, the fading sunlight sparkled over the shiny leaves and made the forestland look more endearing.

The chief prosecutor smiled at the pretty greenery and he gave Phoenix a little shove "Kay is a nice young lady whose thirst for adventure is incredibly hard to quench. She is also the pure definition of what a mischievous rapscallion looks like so you cannot miss her."

Phoenix, feet trotting as he forcibly cantered towards the randomly-placed Japanese jungle, gave a hand gesture as if to order the others to follow him and they obeyed without question without another thought yet they bid their farewells as they distanced themselves from the old and new friends they had made during their stay here.

"Bye, Nick, you had better send me burgers soon!" Maya called while waving to her friend.

Phoenix called back "You can bet on that, Maya!"

Pearl called out towards the group "Mr. Nick, you are still Mystic Maya's special somebody so don't you _dare _go cheating on her like you just did with Sister Iris!"

"...Okay, Pearls!"

Bella called out as she waved cutely "Goodbye Mr. Hobo, get a haircut please! And give Kazam a hug for me!"

"...No comment!"

Simon glared daringly as he held a katana in the group's direction "You had better take care of Athena and the twins otherwise you're head will roll!"

"I-I will!"

Aura also pointed a remote with a skull on it at Phoenix and company's shrinking form "Like my brother says, except you will also get some robots at you're house shooting lasers at you!"

"...Again, no comment!"

Iris waved a handkerchief in the disappearing Attorney's direction with a worried expression on her face "Be careful not to get a cold!"

"Thanks for the tip!"

Every time someone yelled at Phoenix, his voice changed from irritated to frightened and to simply fine. He was pretty much the leader so everyone's good byes and good wishes were directed towards him and some of them hinted their farewells to the others too.

Soon the Ace attorney team had disappeared inside the lush jungles. The whole outside of the Hazakura temple had remained silent and nobody knew what else to say about the ordeal but they knew they had to follow Edgeworth or else face the fury of organisation Z.E.R.O and they didn't want to face such a scary group.

So, without much else to do or say, Edgeworth proceeded to lead everyone away from the temple "Come everyone, let us go to the hideout. We should be safer there."

However there were many people who were confused about the whole thing.

Many of them were wondering where to go or what to do. They couldn't even be sure that they would be safe anymore or would ever see their home of Hazakura temple again. That thought alone terrified them all as they sadly glanced to the floor below whilst they followed the refined chief prosecutor as he led the group like an elephant leading a heard.

As Edgeworth led the huge group away, aided by Maya, he simply thought to himself one thing that rang throughout his entire conscience being:

(_Don't worry, my old friend, when the time comes I shall assist you're battle for life.)_

* * *

**A/N: That's the conclusion for this part. Sorry about not updating yesterday, I have just been going through some...rough problems. **

**Right now my right eye is sore and the right side of my face is paralyzed and I can't move anything. Right now I'm just not feeling great so I'm sorry. I'll try and update like I do everyday but I cannot guarantee that this will be the case.**

**I just hope you can forgive me.**

**I am so very sorry for this, guys. I might let you know what's going on when -****and if- we figure out what's going on. **

**Please review anyway. **

**-Chloemcg**


	41. Meeting the Yatagarasu

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo, Phoenix, Junie, Trucy, Athena, Kazam and the twins all treaded lightly through the thick luscious jungles that surrounded them.

They all glanced around constantly to catch a glimpse of a certain thief who Edgeworth had mentioned earlier -someone whom they were tasked to keep a sharp eye out for encase they need a helping hand to find Klavier Gavin- and they couldn't really get to see the rock star by themselves as they didn't exactly know where he was located precisely.

Phoenix and friends were informed that this person, named Kay, actually was an infamous thief which was called something like; "the great thief Yatagarasu" or something like that.

Apparently Kay was a nice lass who was kind of like Athena in a way and she was also quite the teasing minx when she was sneaking around the place with her little gadget companion: Little thief, kept safely tight in her pocket, probably warm and all snugly and stuff.

Phoenix glanced around oh, so cautiously. His eyes were somewhat glaring in weariness while he wore such a sour face that would rival that of Edgeworth's chilly glare that he would give people who either stall his time or lie repeatedly to keep a dumb secret...or when Larry does something utterly stupid.

He led the group through the foreign greenery with his shifty body movements becoming increasingly shifty while he stepped over tree trunks, branches and vines that just so happened to have been laying uselessly on the floor below, making it so danger would probably be all around them.

While the older Ace attorney was leading the group, Athena and the twins were keeping a sharp eye on Juniper while Apollo was in front of them and scouting ahead while clearing the way for his friends and wife so they could get through with ease through this maze of a jungle environment.

Athena looked towards her childhood friend and looped her arm supportively around the flower girl, asking with a little smile filled with kindness "Junie, are you feeling alright?"

Juniper nodded although she seemed surprised with the sudden question.

She was a bit worried about her unborn child since that incident back in the unofficial trial of Bella Fey earlier had really done a number upon her fragile body. It even left a couple of bruises around her arms, legs and her abdomen the pain was so sharp!

Luckily Athena was there for her friend whenever she was in strife so she could walk alongside her very best friend.

"Erm...yes, I'm fine thank you." She sighed worriedly as she dipped her head low. The flower girl was very shaken up from everything that had rattled her world like an earthquake, that was clearer than crystal, but she was also minding her husband's feelings since Apollo was going through big strides too that would undoubtedly put pressure on him.

Athena could sense that worry spreading inside her friend's heart and she glanced worriedly into Juniper's soft gaze that was probably aimed towards the attorney in red. The girl with the wing-shaped bangs smirked gently as she rubbed Juniper's shoulder gently yet tenderly in an effort to calm her nerves just a bit, feeling her friend's unease a bit more when she touched the flower judge's tense shoulder under her touch.

Junie felt her breath hitch at the sound of something in the distance. She gasped and froze in place as she tried to register what it was as she hurriedly glanced around to try and catchy a glimpse of the source of the "skittery" noises coming from the left side of the jungle lush, hiding amongst the trees and foliage.

"Wh-What was that?" She asked in a high-pitched squeak, timidly hiding behind Athena for protection.

Athena simply looked around too. She heard those sounds too and didn't want to worry her friend needlessly as she assured her in a trembling voice "I-I'm sure that i-it was just the wind rocking the trees, J-Junie, nothing to b-b-be scared-" She was cut off mid sentence when another rustling filled her ears and she too squeaked fearfully but a bit more louder than Juniper.

"Eeek! What was that!?" She asked, hugging her pregnant friend.

Apollo turned on his heels and headed back towards the frightened women. He could understand Juniper being paranoid because of the fact that her mind was playing tricks upon her but Athena too!? He groaned irritably and walked towards Juniper and Athena with a blunt expression etched upon his face.

He folded his arms across his chest "Athena, what are you screaming about?"

He impaitently tapped his foot on the ground, awaiting an answer. Whilst he looked at Athena as if he was a scolding parent to a child who was in trouble for committing a bad deed to a neighbour, he could vaguely hear some sounds in the distance and as they became increasingly louder and more cluttered in his ears.

His face hardened in sternness. Why wasn't Athena answering him!?

Actually she cowered beneath his shadow and deftly lifted a finger up and pointed over his shoulder.

His anger melting and being replaced with curiosity, Apollo looked at the direction where Athena was pointing and was instantly met with a swift jab in the eye and he fell backwards.

"Ow!" He yelped as his hand flew to his sore eye and he rubbed at it tenderly. He gritted his teeth in pain as he blinked his eyes so he could rid himself of the sharp agony robbing him of at least half his vision. He sat up gingerly and was met by the silhouette of a strange ninja-like being.

Whoever they were, they seemed to have wore a scarf as their neckwear fluttered in the wind ever so gently and a small badge clipped to the side glittered like gold in the gentle breeze that suddenly blustered through the area. The silhouette of this figure slowly stood up and straightened their posture and revealed that their hair was long and black and their eyes were a light shade of emerald green.

The figure twirled something remote-like in their fingers before expertly stuffing it in their pocket.

A mysterious air filled the atmosphere with a ninja-like presence.

Apollo asked slowly and cautiously as he steadily climbed to his knees, using his arms to prop himself into a sitting up position "...So you must be the Great thief Yatagarasu, right?"

His question was met with silence. It was a silence that somewhat frightened him and he tilted his head to one side in confusion of why she was being so worryingly quiet and not answering the question.

He slowly used his arms to scoot away but it was met with futility when the shadowed figure moved with such agility and stopped the red clad attorney in his tracks as this person stomped a foot down on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

This strange person cloaked in the shadows spoke words that whispered and breathed into Apollo's ears like a gentle summer breeze "Even in the depths of night, when no other bird dares to take flight, one alone soars to shine the light of righteousness on the world's blight!"

Apollo was now beyond confused. This motto seemed very cliché and strangely something what Trucy would probably pull out of her hat when looking for some catchy piece of dialog. That and what this person was saying rhymed so it would catch Trucy's interest like a fish to a fishing hook.

He was so confused he couldn't help but put on a blunt face and have a little bead of sweat run down one side of his face as he stared right into those hypnotic eyes that belonged to who he assumed was Kay.

"And that one is me! For I, Kay Faraday, am the _great _thief Yatagarasu!"

Apollo held up his hands in a poorly attempt at self defence. He was rather worried that this girl would probably slice his head off if he spoke a single word -not that he had enough of that when dealing with Simon Blackquill in court...

Athena and Juniper rushed to Apollo's aid but were stopped when Phoenix intervened, running to his understudy's rescue.

"No wait! We've been told to find you, Ms. Faraday!" Phoenix yelled desperately and he skidded to a halt in front of the woman who looked a little bit older than Trucy and Athena.

Kay wore the same clothes she always wore but she now wore a black eye mask to make her appearance more akin to that of an actual burglar. Her bird-like blue scarf was wrapped proudly around her neck and that little pin she had clipped to the neck-wear and she had her long raven black hair tied into a long ponytail -not unlike Athena- and she actually seemed well adjusted into the Japanese environment.

For a moment or two, Kay looked confused. Were these people who she had been sent to find? She found her suspicions confirmed when she saw Trucy, Kazam and the twins right in her sights and she smirked happily in satisfaction upon seeing them all together.

"Oh! Did Mr. Edgeworth send you guys, by chance?" She asked with a cheeky wink of the eye.

Phoenix sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. This girl and Trucy would get along great, that wasn't a mistake, and she seemed to have been quite the characteristic little minx that Edgeworth loved like a daughter but found greatly irritating for some reason -not that the reason was abundantly clear already!

The spiky-haired attorney's tone was soaked in bland irritation "...Yes, Edgeworth told us to seek you out. Apparently you can take us to see Klavier Gavin, can you?"

Kay pretended to think about it. She stepped off of Apollo's chest, allowing him up, and examined each and everyone of the group. Everyone seemed very confused of the situation but seemed to be in a very tight bind that tangled everyone's sense of logic into tight little knots of uncertainty and such.

It would be a bald-faced lie if she said she didn't feel sorry for these guys.

She had, actually, heard about Phoenix Wright from her boss: Edgeworth, and since then respected him to an extent since the guy was friends with Miles and he did seem like a remotely nice guy but there was an air of aggravation with these hooligans which she could not describe.

They must have been pretty stressed out by all they were going through.

So, with a cheery Japanese bow, Kay accepted to help the Ace attorney team in their plight and lead them to their designated destination.

"Alright, I'll help ya!" She held a finger up towards them to stop them from walking before they made a single step forwards "...But I have some rules, though."

Kay gave a flashy whip out her scarf and grinned ecstatically. It was as if she was hungry for adventure and not much else, while on a lust for blood and sugar.

She turned swiftly on her heels to face the group and she eyed them all hardly with a rock solid gaze fixed upon the Ace attorney team, her gaze not dare withering on any of their faces. "Rule number one: keep you're children close to you and whoever is the nearest adult is to hold them tight."

With that said, Apollo gathered Alakazam into his arms while Athena held Star and Trucy held on to Luna with everything they all had and didn't dare intend on releasing any of them or letting them fall down to oblivion.

Kay continued making rules "Rule number two: Anyone who falls off is piranha bait."

This second rule made Phoenix go pale. There were piranha!? And what about that "falling off" bit, where were they falling off from? They weren't going anywhere high up...right? He prayed that they weren't because he couldn't handle going high up. He hated heights enough as it is, he didn't need any other reason to have a phobia of heights!

Then came the third rule "Rule number three..." She left them hanging in the suspense for a few seconds or two before she smirked in a happy-go-lucky way "Hold on tight and don't fall behind!"

And with the rules made, Kay snapped her fingers and then they were whisked up high into the tree canopies. They all hung on for dear life as they grabbed some vines the jungles provided as they were flung into the high skies above, soaring over the treetops, before they continued to swing from vine to vine.

Everyone screamed out loud as they whipped through the air. Nobody knew what was going on here but they were very worried that this would kill them!

One second would result in a life lost.

This was either the time to live or the time to die...

* * *

**A/N: Ooooh, they meet Kay and now Phoenix and company are now going all "Tarzan" on everything! **

**Will they survive their dangerous swinging course and will they make it to Klavier and whoever else is probably with him? Will Kay take them to Klavier!?**

**We'll see in the next chapter.**

**...Still in hospital, sadly, and I am not happy about it. Hoping to go home on Saturday and I may be better or may not. My face may take awhile to get back to normal -stupid facial palsy!- or it may not.**

**I shall still update and we may see someone other than Klavier.**

**-Chloemcg **


	42. Reflections

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

"Wooooooaaaahhhh!" Apollo, Phoenix, Junie, Trucy, Athena, Kazam, the twins and Kay yowled out in panic as they performed their final swings while they plummeted down to the earth below while falling from a great height with Kay leading them.

For the passed while, they had been dangerously swinging from vine-to-vine in order to get to the supposed location where Klavier Gavin was awaiting their arrival. It was dangerous, indeed, but that couldn't be any more or less dangerous than whatever other part of their journey was fraught with.

It didn't take much for them to do a flip in the air, but that was what they did before falling flat on their faces while Kay landed perfectly on her feet with her arms stretched out in the air expertly with a satisfied smile on her face while she mutedly boasted about her better abilities in gymnastics.

They all seemed to have arrived at a lowly train cart that had been polished clean and had been painted a fine shade of lilac with the words "Gaviners" painted along the side of the cart that was pulled by the rest of the locomotive that was surprisingly hidden by the jungle lush greenery which had also hidden the fine tracks that stretched from these fair Japanese jungles from who-knows-where. It seemed to have been a nice place to rest a train near, although the rest of the trek had been quite peerless for the Ace attorney troop.

These nice surroundings were even accompanied by the sweet, exotic sounds of a "whooshing" waterfall that seemed to have been nearby and it filled everyone with this sense of adventure that they couldn't even have felt before -a feeling that was overpowering Phoenix especially even though he wasn't one for traveling except if it was for important lawyering business- and they couldn't feel this sensation anywhere else.

While Phoenix and everyone else slowly climbed to their feet, aching from the rough landing, Kay knocked against the wood of the cart sliding-door with a smirk curling her lips upwards and her eyes sparkling like precious gems.

Her curled fist banged against the wood to alert the people within that she had finally arrived with the visitors she had supposed to have been bringing them.

Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal an almost secretive Klavier. He was the younger brother of enemy: Kristoph Gavin, and he was also an international guitar player and rock band expert who played a mean bass in any sort of band. He would usually weave from band-to-band much like how a frog would hop from a different lilly pad or how a bird would fly to different places a lot of the time.

"Faulein Faraday, what took so long!?" He whispered hushedly as he glared at the Great thief as if she had just grown an arm out of her forehead. He seemed really stressed with a few things as he carried around a bass guitar that was strapped around his broad and strong chest yet his feet seemed really skittery. It was as if he was in a major hurry or something.

He groaned when he decided to run to the team's aid before anything else happened.

He slowly yet hurriedly flung everyone inside one-by-one and a surprise person was assisting in getting them comfortable whence they were safely inside the train.

Kay smiled yet she looked a bit apologetic "Sorry about the wait, Klavvy, I just didn't expect this all to happen so suddenly and I wasn't keeping an eye on the time."

Klavier glared chillingly at the woman. He felt really stressed and didn't really have enough time to argue this out right now, it would have proved just plain pointless if he had just stuck it out stubbornly and argued it all over in such an uncouth manner.

If there was one thing he had learned from Kristoph, it would have to be gentlemanly manners...

Klavier, not wanting to waste anymore time, gently loaded up Apollo into the train cart whilst he carried him in a heap in his arms. Kay assisted the rock star with carrying the horned attorney's legs as her compadre carried his top half into the old rickety locomotive car that creaked heavily when each few heap of pounds had been added to the vehicle.

Everyone basically laid down on the comfy sofa or anywhere cozy while Phoenix -the only one awake- slowly and sluggishly dragged himself into the train cart and he collapsed on to his knees and had his face hung low. He breathed heavily as he tried to regain at least a fine majority of whatever energy he had left. He knew he was getting old but this was ridiculous!

He offered his hand out towards the surprise guest who just happened to be also in the wooden vehicle and he was utterly gobsmacked whence he met this person face-to-face.

"Th-Thalassa!?" He gasped. The woman who had the attorney so starstruck shushed the man and patted his head to help silence him and prevent the rude awakening of everyone else.

He sighed and decided not to make a fuss at the risk of awakening the others. He had to admit that seeing Apollo, Trucy and everyone else so content in their sleep was a very endearing sight to behold. It made a feeling of wistful reminisce pour into his heart, he had seen so many sights and so many contradictions in his career but nothing could match this adorable sight.

He smiled kindly at the biological mother of Trucy and Apollo, knowing full well that she was a friend of his and that she was always willing to play her part.

She didn't get a fair share of her slice of parenthood since she was forced to give up Apollo when she was a young mother, yet she had to leave Trucy and her father too because she didn't know who she was anymore. It was rough for her because she always wanted to hold her two children again, she wanted to be there for them but there was something that always made her ageing heart ache like crazy:

Apollo and Trucy had no idea who she really was, nor that they were actually siblings.

That and she had grandchildren. One of which she didn't even get to meet yet, they weren't even born. However she had yet to formally meet her oldest grandson: Alakazam, clearly a namesake of his magical heritage.

Thalassa had to wonder if her grandson had inherited her powers. That kinetic vision was an admirable ability to have and she thought it useful at times, but even if her grandson did not inherit her abilities, she would have adored that little child either way. Kazam looked so much like his mother in so many ways, he even had her deep blue eyes and tufts of brown hair.

Phoenix slowly crawled to tuck some blankets around Athena and the twins and some of the others whilst Thalassa spent some quaility time with Apollo and Trucy.

While Trucy subconsciously held Kazam close to her, making the young boy snuggle closer to her in his sleep, she also snuggled up in the thin blankets that had been softly draped over her body and adored the warmth they gave both her and her son. She smiled in her sleep whilst her mother lovingly stroked her head, softly wiping away some strands of hair out from her eyes.

Thalassa smiled gently.

Trucy had grown up so much and looked so much like her. Only with small differences, of course. But Trucy also made her proud by becoming such a strong and brave young woman and now she had become a single mother who had the support of her adoptive father; Phoenix, in raising her son. She wasn't so lucky to have her support in raising Apollo but she still managed.

Then she turned to Apollo. He had grown so much since the last time she had seen him and that was a very long time ago. Nobody knew it, except for maybe Phoenix, but she actually attended every trial she could that involved Apollo to give her support and she felt her spirit break when she heard that his best friend was murdered.

Her poor son had been through hell and back, it appeared, and she felt responsible for it all. If she had chosen her son over her father's wishes than that young man wouldn't have had to punch through that hurdle and it would have hurt a lot less for him.

But to put the cherry on top, Apollo was about to become a father to a little baby.

His birth mother looked towards her oldest's wife and examined her with a wistful smile. She seemed like a precious and beautiful lady who had a nice choice of clothing and she could see why Apollo would have liked her to begin with: she had a nice aura and she spread good feelings everywhere she went.

Slowly, she planted a tender hand on Juniper's bump and her sleeve lifted up to reveal that she had a bracelet that looked very identical to her son's own. She didn't really care for that right now, though, all she cared about was feeling her unborn grandchild right now but she couldn't help but feel something was...off.

Apollo and Juniper's child was alive, at least, but there was something not right about it. The child's aura was quite weak compared to other presences she had learned to feel when she was blind. It was like her unborn grandchild was fighting against something and crying on the inside because it was losing its battle.

This made Thalassa feel a huge ounce of sympathy. She hoped that Apollo's child will make it through this because it must have been so painful to be enveloped within there. With something that can induce the largest amount of agony imaginable.

She simply decided to be there with her children and she softly patted Apollo and Trucy's heads -one arm stroking Trucy's head and the other arm stroking Apollo's- and she hummed the tune of a lulling melody while she done this.

She was singing a lullaby to her two children who were now grown up.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Phoenix took the chance to walk away and meet Klavier and Kay about their destination.

He slowly got up and walked to the front of the train which had just started rolling down the tracks with the speed of a free stallion, making the inside of the train rumble and jump every few seconds to make anyone standing on their own two feet become unbalanced and would be able to turn their legs into jelly.

The hobo-dressed ace attorney slowly made his way to Klavier and sat down beside him with his ageing hands on his knees. He faced the Rockstar and frowned in confusion with a raised brow of concern.

Where were they going?

"Why hello there, Herr Wright. Good to see that you stayed awake, ja?" He asked in his thick German accent. He seemed worried for some reason as buckets of sweat dribbled down his face and his knuckles were closed around his fists.

Phoenix nodded. He had to agree, he was surprised that he had stayed awake unlike everyone else. They just fell unconscious upon arriving but he could not blame them, they had been on a journey so long and struggling that it was even hard to think about much else because of how much strain Organisation Z.E.R.O put on their minds.

Kay joined in the chat and asked "So, Mr. Wright, what happened to make the Zest Equals Roundup Org go after you?"

Phoenix was now very confused. Z.E.R.O's Aquanim was that!? Wow...that was such a stupid name for a supposedly dangerous organisation, Z.E.R.O sounded way better than that! He fought the urge to face palm and he simply shrugged his shoulders while his head became ducked in-between them and he wore a sad face.

"...I don't know, Ms. Faraday." He sighed and glanced off longingly out the window "I just don't know...we were just unlucky."

Kay and Klavier said nothing.

They actually couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy, not to mention his crew of co-workers, and they had been forced on one big adventure on the run with only old friends to assist them. Of course, they were more than happy to assist since the Wright anything agency had helped them in many situations that changed the fates of many and now was the time for those assistance fees to be repaid.

Smiling surprisingly gently, Klavier patted the man's shoulder supportively "...Don't worry, Herr Wright, you just relax on this train. We shall make it through this or die trying."

Phoenix sighed lowly. He didn't want anyone to die for him and his team, not if he could help it. It broke his heart to recall all those who had died in his care, or someone he knew who had died.

He couldn't take anymore death in his life, he just couldn't take anymore!

The ace attorney spared a sad look to the two and then he began to rub at his hands faintly to try and forget the misfortune he and everyone else have been through at the hands of those villains, they were nothing but bad news! He couldn't forget any of what they had done, especially not when they had placed a huge bounty on their heads and made them worldwide walking get-rich-quick chances.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes to rest a bit. He couldn't think like that, he had to be positive for everyone else's sakes. He couldn't just be down on the situation, no matter how bleak the circumstances.

(_The worst times are when Lawyers have to force their biggest smiles...) _Those words pinned into his head for a long time and he always believed them to be true and usually used them as a down packed way to assure Apollo and Athena that they would do perfectly fine in a trial.

He just had to stick this out for awhile.

He had to.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Kay, Klavier, and Thalassa (or Lamiror) are now in on the run! **

**We shall see what else shall take place in this little adventure, shall we? **

**Awww, poor Phoenix. He just feels useless right now and he can't think of anything he could do to fix it even though it isn't his fault. Hopefully, though, our Ace attorney heroes shall stick through these hardships and will make it through this.**

**What shall happen now? **

**Where are our heroes and heroines going? **

**Find out the answers to these questions soon!**

**-Chloemcg**


	43. Apollo vs chicken

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Kristoph and the Phantom both looked around, their sharp eyes peering through the leaves of the jungle environment as they searched for their target.

The Phantom held up a little device that beeped slowly and steady on occasion whilst Kristoph wrote stuff down on a little notepad he held in one hand, his eyes piercing through the lens of his glasses as he feverishly wrote stuff down neatly and swiftly.

The duo had been out hunting Phoenix Wright and company for ages, it felt like, as they had nothing to pass the time with other than their lust for revenge and whatnot. The revenge for that spiky-haired lawyer was the one thing keeping the both of them going as they searched continuously for any signs -any signs at all- for their prime target.

They had heard from a few Japanese folk that they had been spotted, Phoenix and Juniper specifically, making a quick drive away for what seemed like a temple which had appeared to be where the trial ended before more recent heartbeat detections had been discovered by the devices that the two guys wielded at this very moment.

Now here they were: Searching relentlessly for their prey.

"My friend, do you have any idea of where they could have gone?" Kristoph asked through a lowly growl, furiously scribbling something down on his notebook as if his very fingertips were on fire. He gritted his teeth like fangs as he scowled at the tiny item he had to write on in order to keep those tracks memorised here.

The Phantom, however, kicked at the ground in frustration. The machine was going haywire, as the heartbeats of Phoenix and everyone else were beating too hard and fast to be discernible of their whereabouts.

The elite spy groaned loudly, feeling a hint of annoyance for the situation at hand.

He couldn't help but find the fact that those guys actually found a way to elude them, whether intentionally or not, very annoying. While they were here getting a hint on their position it always seemed like someone had been totally aware of their diabolical plot.

Gritting his false teeth angrily, the Phantom shot back "Not a clue, Mr. Gavin, it seems that those fools are always one step ahead!"

It was true. Someone knew exactly how to point those Ace attorneys in the right direction in order to make sure they barely escape by the skin of their teeth and whoever that was... was a meddlesome troublemaker indeed for their plans and such. They didn't need a super sneaky figure, watching their every move, telling their prey where to avoid them.

Of course, they had a good idea who this was.

It had to be someone clever, someone fiercely loyal to Wright. It had to be someone who knew exactly how a criminal thinks and someone who knew exactly how to play such a logical chess with their own logic.

The only one who matched this description could only be: Miles Edgeworth.

A prosecutor of his calibre could never be doubted. He knew exactly how to follow someone and keep hot on their trial, predicting exactly where they were going to strike next thanks to that brain of his. Edgeworth was a person for science and he could very easily pinpoint an enemies moves as he had all the equipment and assistance needed.

He had sources.

It seemed that Edgeworth had figured out how to disable their main way of tracking Wright and his cronies. It was a little bit hard and it was difficult to pin point everything and anything that stood in the way when Edgeworth was the one pulling the opposite end of the rope in this tug of war.

"...But how do we turn the tables back in our favour?" Kristoph asked, slowly realising what had been going on behind their backs "We cannot simply go and stop that flaming magenta, cravat-wearing fool of a man."

The Phantom seemed to have been in deep thought for a moment before an evil smile twisted against his lips and his eyes narrowed dangerously, an idea popping into his mind much like a light being switched on inside a pitch black room.

He chuckled madly at the thought "Hehehe...Or can we?"

The two men said nothing. The same idea leaked into their intelligent minds as they suddenly felt a heavy rainstorm begin and light up the area in a momentary flash of lightning whilst thunder rumbled in the background, announcing an upcoming rainstorm that threatened to darken the area with this ominous tension and suspense.

Neither men knew how to do this yet, but they did know how to silence Edgeworth...forever.

* * *

Apollo opened his eyes weakly, groaning beneath his breath as he blinked his eyes multiple times to try and wake himself up.

He couldn't exactly remember what had happened before he had passed out but he could most definitely feel a major headache splitting his skull in two separate pieces much like two separate pieces of earth dividing during a world-shatteringly devastating earthquake.

His head burned as memories flared up inside his mind. The horned attorney slowly sat up, leaning back against the hallowed out walls of what he assumed was a train judging by the fact that there was the occasion bump the transport would get and the rumbling of train tracks was another dead giveaway.

"Uggh..." He groaned, his voice heavy with exhaustion "Where am I?"

He looked to his side to discover that Juniper was sleeping right beside him, curled up in a snugly little ball as she was wrapped up in a baby blue blanket as she lain down on some hay and there was also some feathers scattered around her.

Chicken feathers to be precise.

Curiously, Apollo picked up a slender yet small white feather and examined it. He noticed that his sniffles were acting up but not only that but his eyes were becoming irritated and his skin was getting all tingly.

He scratched instinctively at his blotching arms and quickly discovered the reasoning behind his itchiness and reaction to this feather. He groaned, his voice going hoarse, and he dropped the feather and watched it flutter to the ground below and his eyes widened in horror upon seeing those dreaded feathers.

(_Oh dear, anything but chicken feathers!) _He thought with dread and he fell to the floor face first. He groggily opened his eyes and gave a long moan for help as he itched and scratched his burning hot skin, feeling his own body reacting in such a vile way was wretched and it made him feel horrid.

He squirmed on the floor, his back being covered with hay in the process, and he could have sworn that he heard the gentle clucking of a chicken but he didn't dare say anything about it, he knew that his voice would have mellowed down by now because of his allergies.

He lain on his stomach with his horns withering like flowers without water and they dangled embarrassingly over his eyes and he curled right into a fatal position while he moaned again but this time he seemed to have been calling someone to help him. He glared his eyes towards the door and frowned irritably, he couldn't feel much of his arms now and he felt really itchy and sneezy.

As a matter of fact, his tumble to the floor must have knocked his turquoise neck tie askew since it was now in an awkward position on the floor beneath him and he watched as a chicken waddled innocently in front of him, clucking away and chirping as if she owned the train cart.

Apollo's glare hardened towards the farm animal, feeling even more annoyed by the mere presence of the very thing he was allergic to. It was like all chickens existed to annoy him to death!

"...Go away, stupid walking ball of feathers." He grumbled as he turned his gaze away from the creepy little creature with the waddle and the white bundle of feathers, oblivious to the man's clear resentment towards her, simply lain down just inches away from Apollo's face with an upbeat look in her beady little eyes.

The chicken clucked again, louder, as if to call for assistance and then a certain red haired girl ran into the room with a chuckle upon seeing her friend looking so miserable.

"Hahaha! Oh, Apollo, don't you blame the chicken!" Athena giggled as she gave a taunting look to her friend but she only earned herself a stiff glare from the poor man. She couldn't deny the hilarity of this moment, seeing Apollo look so mad at an innocent creature such as this was very amusing.

In fact, Apollo's thorns of hair and the chicken's comb seemed very similar to each other.

That made this scene all the more funny!

"...Athena, pick me up." He demanded in a lowly growl of a voice, gritting his teeth to make his facial features paint a very aggravated expression on his face. He was so mad that even his horns withered just a little bit more.

Athena decided to taunt the man a little further "What's the magic word, Apollo?"

Apollo growled dangerously.

Why did Athena pick now of all times to be an annoying little brat!? Why did she have to pick now to be the most annoying thing on the planet...other than that chicken who had decided to pester him by seating itself right beside him, reddening his cheek further and making it all the more itchy and scratchy!?

However, despite the fact that his patience was thinning, Apollo decided to humour his friend and he said through a wolf-like scorn "...Athena, _please _pick me up."

Athena gave the man a look of triumph and satisfaction as she approached him. She gripped Apollo by the shoulders, picking him off of the floor, and she helped lay him back down right next to his wife but she was careful to wipe away all of the other chicken feathers that surrounded him and Junie.

After tucking Apollo in like a child, Athena went to go and get some cream to help the man get over his rash and itchiness.

Poor Apollo was left feeling utterly undignified. He felt like all the manliness he had accumulated thus far had completely evaporated into thin air and abandoned him. He felt all his masculinity die within him all thanks to Athena and that disgusting ball of feathers he calls a demon.

He was going to go ahead and explore his surroundings later on but right now he needed to rest a little more, he couldn't go anywhere like this. He looked disgraceful!

He hated chickens and didn't want anything to do with them, that was how it always been. That would never change unless a chicken would somehow save his life one day.

"...Stupid ball of feathers.." He grumbled, rolling on to one side and shunning the poor hen he and Juniper had been housed with.

* * *

**A/N: Awwww, poor Apollo and poor chicken. **

**Sorry but I thought I should put in a funny chapter. I hope it counters the serious one from this morning, it's about time for some funniness. I'm glad that you find the whole "Apollo allergic to chickens thing" funny so I thought there should be another one.**

**We also see what Kristoph and the Phantom are doing?**

** What will they do to Edgeworth...?**

**What will Apollo and Juniper do whence they have awoken? **

**Find out and please review!**

**-Chloemcg**


	44. A mother's plight

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix sighed as he sat back on his chair, closing his eyes in relaxation as he sat in a laid-back posture with his head held high and a small smile curling upon his lips.

He couldn't help but relax to the sound of raindrops hitting the bullet-proof glass lightly in its neverending splendour that always found a way to soothe the agitated mind. Thankfully the rain proved to be a helpful remedy for distressed minds and aching hearts but there were times when it mixed in perfectly to the dark depressing mood you would be in, making you feel worse about yourself.

He tapped his fingers in a particular rhythm, drumming them quietly and gently against each arm rest, and he heard the gentle sounds of Juniper's singing in the background.

For a way to pass the time, Klavier offered to help Juniper work on her singing and to get over the hurdle of her timid personality getting in the way. She was very shy, after all, and besides she needed something to help both herself and everyone else feel calm again.

Kazam decided to go with Apollo and fetch some guitar cases with Lamioir so they could assist in this little warm-up, going a few carts away from where Phoenix and Juniper were sitting.

Trucy, the twins and Athena went to go and make some things for the evening dinner that everyone could enjoy. They prized themselves on making any and all dishes that would make everyone feel a bit happier on this little road trip and to relax for awhile in order to forget their problems with Organisation Z.E.R.O for a little while.

It was a nice little chance to lay low and recuperate for awhile.

He dragged open one eye when he heard some squawks of a chicken and, before he knew it, a little bundle of white feathers had somehow appeared on his chest and stared at him with those little beady eyes filled with a creepy curiosity.

(_Gagh, why does Apollo's fear have to be justified by this little thing!?_) He thought back the urge to squeak pathetically in a slight squeal of fear. He couldn't help but bite his bottom lip fearfully as his eyes screwed shut in an attempt to avoid looking at the hen but, alas, he could not escape that oh-so terrifying gaze of the creepy little animal.

The chicken clucked in confusion, tilting its little bobble head to one side.

However, as Phoenix thought back on the man in question, he couldn't help but think about something: Thalassa and Apollo.

From what he was told, Thalassa was forced to give Apollo up when he was a baby because she wasn't allowed to keep him in Troupe Gramarye. She must have been over the moon that she was allowed to see her son again right along with Trucy in the same place, Trucy being her daughter, but there was also something that must have broken her on the inside.

She couldn't tell her son who she was -not without spitting salt right on Apollo's wounds- but that wasn't the only thing, either! The poor guy didn't even know that he was in fact related to Trucy neither. Those two were actually half siblings.

He couldn't help but wonder how she would tell him...? Would she tell him flat out, would she hesitate a bit before telling him, would she tell both him and Trucy at the same time?Well, however she was going to do it, she had better tell Apollo and Trucy soon.

Especially how their live expectancies were now sliced in half and how Apollo was going to be a dad.

* * *

Apollo whistled whilst shaking his hips along to a song that played around constantly in his head.

He held a large box in his arms whilst Kazam was trailing along behind, carrying a smaller box that his smaller stature could stand to hold, and Lamiroir held a guitar case in her arms whilst she kept a sharp eye on her little grandson who she hadn't had the pleasure of getting to know until now.

The woman couldn't help but feel the guilt gnaw at her parental instincts at this fact. She barely knew her little grandson who seemed like a very good little lad despite everything that had been going on, so innocent and angelic. She was also due to have another grandchild any day now so she felt basically like the worst grandparent ever.

However Thalassa felt her foot get caught on to something and she fell forwards. Her knees buckled out from under her as a part of her heel, or her robes, got caught on something which was probably obstructing their way to the door. There were a few boxes and stuff stuck on the floor so someone could easily trip if they were not watching where they were going.

She didn't know what happened, only that her foot got caught and she found herself falling towards the ground below her. She closed her eyes tightly to brace herself for the impact but she slowly opened them to realise that she hadn't fallen to the ground.

Someone had caught her to be more specific.

"Woah, careful." Apollo chided teasingly with a smile, helping his unknowing mother back to her feet. He made sure to take the guitar case she carried into his precession as well as both containers slipped into his strong arms, bundled together to make them easier to carry by himself.

Even if they did obstruct his line of sight quite a bit.

He wobbled a little as he tried to step over every box or item that was meant to block his path or make him trip over it. Although he did seem a tiny bit fidgety, which was probably because of the whole chicken fiasco earlier. He had some cream rubbed on his arms and head and he had been forbidden to perceive any tells for the rest of the day but he didn't really mind as long as he could still walk around.

However he did notice that air of unsettling silence that spread between both himself and the ageing woman. Kazam was oblivious to it, though, as he just carried the little box assigned to him.

"...Lamiror, are you feeling okay?" Apollo asked, calling the woman by her stage name.

Thalassa nodded, covering her mouth with her shawl and closing her eyes in shock. She hadn't expected that! Her son was wanting to talk to her, she had better calm herself.

"I am fine, Apollo," She sighed to calm her breaths down a bit "why do you inquire?"

Apollo furrowed his brows. She didn't sound fine, it was rather...disturbing. She seemed to have been very absent-minded right now and that had been the case ever since they had arrived on the train.

He sent her an uncertain sideways glance, continuing to avoid tripping over the many boxes obstructing his way through "Ah, its nothing. You just seem a bit quiet."

His observation turned out to have been very accurate as the woman just stayed quiet after he pointed this out. Now he was very worried for the woman, she seemed to have been very worried about something herself but she also seemed lost. It was as if whatever dilemma she had, it was a biggie and one that she didn't wish to ponder on but couldn't help it.

Apollo's eyes clouded in worry. He shifted the cases into one arm and he smiled gently at her. Whatever problem she was suffering from he was going to try and lift it -or at the very least lift a small part of that veil- and he wasn't going to give up until he made her feel a little better.

His voice was gentle and soft as he asked "Is there something I can do?"

Thalassa tensed. Apollo was the last person she wanted help with this from, yet it was very nice of him to offer his assistance! He was a gentleman like that but that didn't make her worries disappear, in fact the question intensified them.

The red clad attorney chuckled upon seeing her reaction "Don't worry, sometimes talking about you're problems help you feel better."

Thalassa was hesitant. Should she tell Apollo her worries even though he was the _reason _for these fears in the first place? What should she do about it, it wasn't something she could just tell him right off the bat and say something like this so casually.

It would be like saying "Hi Apollo, I am your mother who abandoned you when you were a baby. Oh yes! I also forgot to mention that your boss's adopted daughter is also your half sister who was abandoned as well" Because that would probably go down _splendidly!_

Apollo noticed that the lady seemed a bit beside herself. It was probably because he was inadvertently egging her on, but he was still a tiny bit curious about this.

Finally Lamiroir admitted, being careful about talking about this "...Alright. Apollo, I have a dilemma; say you have two children who you have wanted to see and wanted to tell them that you are their mother. What do you do?"

Apollo was shocked. That was a sudden question, he must say! She seemed desperate for the advice, though, and it must have been eating her alive. Hmmm...she had two children who didn't know about their mother -apparently- and she didn't exactly know what their reactions would be.

That was a big dilemma if he ever saw one!

He gave the coolest answer he could think of, putting a free hand to his chin while pondering on what he would do if he was in their shoes.

"Hmm, well I would wait for awhile to tell them and go to those kids when the time was right." He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again "...But then again, the kids may freak out to the sudden realisation. They may not know how to take the news but then they'll realise that you were the mother worth waiting for."

He gave a light hearted smile at the end of that answer. Perhaps that would lift Lamiroir's spirits a bit, it seemed to have made her feel a bit happier as she nodded her head gratefully.

However a certain high pitched squeak of a tiny voice snapped the two out from their chat "Uncle Polly, the doors blocked!"

Apollo looked at Alakazam, looking so hyper and energetic, and shook his head with a smile. He should have known that the boy would have trouble with this little obstacle, it was actually anticipated. The poor boy was now buried in the clutter of boxes and leftover props that had been wasted away due to time melting its value away.

"Haha. Hold on, Kazam, I'm coming." He told him, approaching the young boy before scooping him up into his other arm and carrying him towards the door.

Whilst Apollo's back was turned Thalassa frowned sadly.

Her son would make a great dad, he was already a good guy with a kind heart and he was amazing with his half-nephew already and Alakazam wouldn't need to adjust to much after Apollo and Trucy have finally been told about their true heritage while Juniper just may have to get used to calling Trucy her "sister-in-law".

She feared what Apollo and Trucy would think of her once they were finally told. Would they hate her? It was a possibility that would be the case. But if they found out that Phoenix knew, that anger would be needlessly taken out on him and she couldn't have that.

The spiky-haired Ace attorney didn't need "adopted daughter hating him" while he was worrying about everything else. But she had a feeling that she needed to tell Apollo and Trucy soon, otherwise they will never know the truth.

But how can she tell them?

* * *

**A/N: Poor Thalassa. She must be in agony right now because she has to tell Apollo and Trucy about their true family, and that they are siblings. **

**There is a reason behind this, guys, really there is. I'm just not telling you what it is yet because believe me it will twist this story much like a turnabout in a trial. **

**Btw, do you have any name ideas for Apollo and Junie's baby? I will be putting a poll up for it later on but I would like some ideas for later on.**

**Thanks and please review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	45. Athena's inner turmoil

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Athena frowned as she sat in a small chair alone in a train cart.

She couldn't even begin to describe this, it felt so foreign to her but at the same time it felt familiar. Those echoed shrieks mellowing inside her mind, those cries mingling with them and the sound of her own heartbeat thumping like mad in the foreground didn't make these twinges get any easier to handle.

She tried to squeeze her eyes shut but they were so helplessly wide that she could not close them. Her breath hitched in her throat when images flowed like a river through her mind. She just couldn't drown out the images that painted her mind in a lawless black colour.

She shivered where she sat, saddening memories flashing back, and she clutched either side of her head while her long digits furled around her long locks of ginger. This vunerable position reminded Athena of what she was like herself during that certain trial whence the murder of her mother was finally resolved.

Heart-wrenching sobs escaped her throat as she burrowed her face into her palms so she could openly cry and allow all those waterworks to finally break down and she could release her bottled up emotions.

"N-Nnnngh..." She groaned, shaking her head "...why can't this memory leave me alone!?"

Luna and Star suddenly entered the room but they seemed confused and concerned. They knew what was happening but they felt so powerless to stop it, they knew what their adoptive mother was going through and they honestly didn't hold this weakness against her.

Their poor mother was just missing her own mother as she had a hard time letting it go, especially whence she had to live with the agonising truth that her mother's killer was walking free.

The urge to go and comfort their upset mother was overwhelming but they couldn't just walk forwards and soothe her no matter how much they desperately wanted to. It would probably make her bundle up her feelings even more and just shove herself through the pain in a really unhealthy way.

Luna and Star exchanged saddened glances.

They hated seeing the woman who took them into her heart so depressed and full of despair for all the turmoil she went through. It simply made them feel sour deep inside and it also made it hard for them not to cry bitter, salty tears of sympathy. She didn't deserve this...nobody deserved this.

Luna wordlessly gestured for her twin sister to go and snuggle up to their mother in a slow attempt to comfort her yet Star shook her head quickly in refusal. Neither girls wanted their mother to suffer with this anymore but they couldn't bring themselves to muster any soothing words nor do anything to calm her.

They could only stand there and watch...

Luckily, Kay took this as her cue to enter the train cart and she froze instantly upon seeing the two helpless girls and the wallowing woman in her wake.

She stood in the doorway, uncertain of what she should do here. She wasn't usually one for comforting anybody except for those who were in dire need of it but this could very well be an exception. Athena seemed absolutely heart-wrenched at whatever was driving her down this streak of deep sadness and no little girl should have to witness their mother in such a hysterical state.

The great thief slowly walked towards Athena and pulled her in for a sisterly hug. She could hardly blame the poor dear, she could feel the grief pile up with each and every sob that quaked her body mercilessly. The woman wailed in utter heartbreak as she gripped on tightly to the other girl with every shred of strength in her body. She couldn't hope to contain all that grief she held inside her, not anymore.

"...There, there. It's okay now, 'kay?" Kay asked softly, rubbing Athena's back in an attempt to calm her down. She stroked it up and down in a steady rhythm that should hopefully calm her down to an extent of her daughters being able to come forward without being uncomfortable.

Slowly, Athena did indeed calm down. Her wails eventually wound down into hiccups and sniffles as she wiped a sleeve over her puffy eyes. She lain on the sofa in a recumbent manner, relaxing into the seat while breathing in a content way. She looked towards her worried daughters and offered them a confused glance as if to invite them in.

Luna and Star stepped forwards, unsure of what to do after having witnessed that. They didn't exactly know if their mother was alright or not after that little upstart but they were more than willing to make her feel better if it meant for them to be in the same room as her after she had a slight mental breakdown.

"...Mother, are you alright?" Star asked in a little voice, her eyes big and glassy. Honestly she highly resembled a kicked puppy by the way she looked at her adopted mother.

Athena, not being able to resist that sweet little face, smiled gently "Yeah, Star. I'm fine now but I just had a little breakdown." She forced a smile to her lips, trying to brush the entire two and a half hours she had been crying herself dry off. She even flashed a peace sign at her two girls but they didn't seem to buy it.

Neither girls were buying the "everything's okay now" trick. Their mother had been very secretive when it came to her feelings and -being an expert on therapy and psychology- she should have known better than to hold up all her emotions inside. It was a rather dumb move on her part, nothing was more blatantly obvious.

The girls shared a very awkward silence that was cringe-worthy at best.

It left a tension so thick that you could slice it with a butter knife.

Luna furrowed skeptic brows at her adoptive mother, not buying this little charade at all. She knew her mother well, she would not be lying like this if there wasn't something she didn't want them to worry about. She folded her arms slickly across her chest and glared chillingly at Athena, this glare being cold enough to rival even Edgeworth's icy sneer.

Kay felt really uncomfortable in this tension. It felt like everything could unravel at the drop of a hat! She had to fix this or else be put into a really tricky situation that she wanted to avoid at all costs, that was one of the duties of the Yatagarasu -the great thief!

"U-Um," Kay began shakily, throwing her arms carelessly around Athena's and the twins shoulders as she began to walk out the door, an anxious smirk plastered on her lips "why don't we go and see the sights of Japan? Its a breathtaking view, after all."

What she said was no more than the truth.

Kay did actually find the Japanese views very enchanting. The way the folk walked about their lives in peace, the way they talked in their calming language, the way they handled their home with such serenity was awe inspiring. It always managed to knock her breath away as she would usually blend in with the darkened colourations of the Japanese environment.

She also loved looking at the Fuji mountains, she loved gazing up at the pink-orange-mixed skies, she adored gazing at the pretty cherry trees that constantly lined through these peaceful lands. She even adored eating some finely grew peaches that would drop off these cherry blossom trees that somehow adorned the land admirably in serenity and calmness.

It would probably be best to get a good look while they were on their way to Borginia.

They didn't have much time left to see the sights anyways, they did have a mission to leave on after all. That could never wait.

Kay led the girls out of the train cart and escorted them outside where Apollo was playing the guitar alongside Klavier, Juniper and Lamiroir were singing a song to match their fine string plucks too as the former rubbed at her large baby bump. Phoenix was presumably asleep on a chair as he actually wore a tranquil look on his facial features. Trucy and Kazam were performing magic tricks with ribbons, twirling them about gracefully in the wind.

Athena smiled a bit. For once, everything seemed jolly and merry enough.

But what if someone would take all that away in a heartbeat?

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter.**

**Athena seems to be struggling with her memories and her daughters must feel powerless about it. At least Kay is willing to assist them in any way she could by helping them get over their horrible trials.**

**What will happen to ruin this magical scene? **

**Find out.**

**-Chloemcg**


	46. Worries of value

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Juniper sighed as she rubbed at her huge abdomen, her eyes lidded softly in compassion as she thought about the little life she carried within her.

She adored that little infant she had been blessed to share this 9-month-long adventure with because she would not like anything more than to raise a family with Apollo. She didn't care how many offspring they had in the future but she didn't truly mind the exact amount they wished to have as she'd love them just the same, she did want to be more helpful to the team however.

Because of her condition, she wasn't able to assist in much.

She felt rather left out.

It was nighttime now and apparently they were going to cross the boarder into Borginia at exactly midnight. The train had stretched far out of Japan by now and should hopefully be approaching the Scandinavian country sooner rather than later. Junie, feeling lost and misty-eyed, decided to watch the moon from the roof of the train which Apollo and herself stayed in.

She sighed in contentment. The moon was so big and beautiful as it hung radiantly in the indigo, star-dotted skies. It was a bit chilly, though, and she did feel that same nip in the air bristle her mud brown locks of hair and caress her face coldly.

She felt a small yet visible shiver of her own body as the gusts of wind flowing by became a little bit more forceful and fierce. Junie hugged her arms to warm herself up, ducking her head down low and craning her neck so her face could be buried in the coil she made with her tangled arms. It was freezing out here, she should have brought a shawl!

Luckily, someone answered those prayers as a soft yet familiar voice called out to her in a whisper "Juniper, is that you?"

At the sound of her name, the flower girl glanced over her shoulder to see the love of her life standing right there behind her.

Apollo wore a soft expression on his face yet it was hard with curiosity, unlike every other expression the crew wore. It was a warm, humble expression that would make even a kicked puppy tossed out into the rain feel safe from harm and it carried a vague trace of parental worry as he approached his expecting wife.

She didn't really say anything in reply. She simply glanced down in worry, worry of what was going to happen to them when Organisation Z.E.R.O finally get the opportunity to get their clutches on them like a hungry eagle snatching up a lowly mouse from the ground and swooping up with the mind-crushing intent of killing said mouse in every grossly conceived way.

Apollo noticed his wife's worried expression and seated himself by her side, removing his red velvet vest and looping it over her shoulders like a scarf in a sweet attempt to warm her up from the cold night air brewing out into the open nighttime.

His heart pounded in worry, he couldn't even hope to understand the turmoil his wife was going through. She must have been coughing from within to try and hide her fears but she was also showing signs of slight contentment yet that was probably from the fine evening she was currently viewing. He laced his arm around her, slowly pulling her close to him so they could snuggle together beneath the moonlight.

Apollo sighed heavily, his breath turning to steam thanks to the blustery night "What are you doing out here, you and our child can catch a cold out here."

Juniper said nothing. She could only bathe in the warmth her husband provided her, making sure to shift a little until she felt comfortable in Apollo's hold. When she got into a better position, though, the flower girl shook her head forlornly. She couldn't worry her husband than she has already, that would make her feel really bad.

But then again...she couldn't have worried Apollo much more than she has now.

Apollo gave her a very gentle squeeze on the shoulder to reassure his "mi amour" and he smiled softly, his eyes burning brightly with compassion as he caressed her face with such tender fingertips.

"Oh, Juniper..." He rubbed his nose against Junie's "my sweet darling, whatever is bothering you, you can always tell me."

Junie lifted her head and her eyes locked on Apollo's. Somehow, those eyes that always made her feel much braver looked much more amazing at night. They sparkled like diamonds in this moonlight and she found herself unable to look away again as she felt an ounce of confidence fill her heart.

It felt warm -warm like some milk being poured into a piping hot mug of tea- and she couldn't hope to escape how enchanting they were.

Finally Juniper blinked and turned away with her cheeks flushing into a bright pink. She could not suppress a small grin while she timidly closed her eyes and buried her head into one palm, this was really embarrassing.

Besides she couldn't lie to him, Apollo would just point out a nervous habit if she did.

"Weeeell..." She began slowly in a high pitched squeak "I suppose I just feel a bit useless."

Apollo was taken aback. His wife felt useless!? How could that be? Juniper was really important to him and to everyone else. However it seemed that a bigger role would be needed for her to feel important to the team instead of just to him. He wordlessly placed a hand to his heart and his eyes flashed in worry.

"W-What? Juniper, you aren't useless!" He patted her hand comfortingly.

The sheepish feeling gone and Junie shook her head rapidly in denial "Yes I am, Apollo! I haven't done anything to help! I-I'm..." Tears welled up in her eyes and began to streak down her face as she coughed and hacked in emotional distress. She went hysterical and began to hyperventilate and she grabbed on to Apollo's vest.

She cried tears of frustration and hurt, her kind heart drowning in the painful sensation of hurricane emotions running rampant through her mind. It was true in some painful way, she really did feel kind of pathetic a lot of the time and she couldn't do or say anything about it! It snagged her heart and tore it to tatters when the thought of her being a hindrance continuously shot through the front of her mind.

Apollo was still shocked as of why Juniper had arrived at that conclusion.

Nevertheless he wrapped his arms around the flower girl and held her tight, burying his chin on her shoulder as he gripped her to his chest. He closed his eyes and frowned when he thought of how his wife must have been suffering with this agony she felt festering deep inside her heart.

She was still having her emotions run all over the place and that wasn't her fault.

Not at all.

"Shhh, it's alright. You're emotions are just running wild..." He soothed, running a calming hand up and down her back.

The red clad attorney hummed a little tune softly beneath his breath as he stroked her spine sweetly, trying to calm her down enough so they could try and change the subject. He hated seeing his wife like this, it always pained him whenever he saw her cry such tears and each time he saw a single tear run down that precious little face of hers it snapped his heart into thousands of tiny little pieces.

After awhile of doing that while humming the song, Juniper soon stopped crying rivers and continued to cling on tightly to him. The two shared a bittersweet silence as they stared up at the fair moonlit sky, watching the world pass by them as they sat on the roof of the train.

"...Apollo?" Juniper asked suddenly.

Apollo looked at his pregnant wife upon hearing his name, raising a thick brow of curiosity. What did she want now?

She continued "can you sing the song we played at our wedding dance?"

Apollo was shocked. His wife wanted him to sing!? He couldn't say that his singing voice was something to behold, that was certain...

But that cute look Junie sent him was really hard to say "no" to. Seriously, each time she wanted something it would take seconds to persuade him. He just couldn't deny such a precious treasure such as the one he loved, let alone the one who carried his unborn child.

He blushed a beet red and he glanced off towards one side, trying to evade that dear little puppy-dog look. He stumbled and trip over his owns words as they hitched in his throat, not even his Chords of steel could work right now when he was so flustered. All he could so was anxiously fumble with his fingers.

He closed his eyes to regain some of his composure and he mumbled the words, toning his Chords steel down to almost nothing but a shaky whisper "U-Um...Er...Tried to walk together, but the night was growing dark~"

Apollo's voice was quiet and filled with a form of pain itself but the song he was singing was still soothing and quiet as he closed his eyes and felt the wind tussle his thorns of hair, blowing them softly in the wind like leaves still stuck to an autumn tree.

"Thought you were beside me, but I reached and you were gone..." Apollo breathed out, this breath manifesting itself into steam before flowing out into the fresh, open air. He seemed to have been inwardly brooding for some reason or rather but he also seemed at peace.

It was the strangest thing.

"Sometimes I hear you calling from some lost and distant shore, I hear you crying softly for the way it was before." The man held Juniper close to him again, but this time he made sure to position her so she could lay close to him but distanced enough so he could rub her enlarged belly tenderly while her pretty head was propped against his chest.

Apollo looked down at his wife, a soft smile forming on his lips and a light shining within his tired eyes. He watched as she began to close her eyes and drift off into a wistful slumber and her long muddy brown locks of hair blew freely in the wind as the couple sat out on the roof of the stretched out train.

Regardless of Junie falling asleep in his arms, Apollo sang the chorus as softly as possible. He tried to keep his voice from shaking as this song reminded him of a certain friend he had lost and how he felt during those times he tried to carry the burden of solving the case all alone.

"Where are you now? Are you lost, will I find you again? Are you alone, are you afraid? Are you searching for me? Why did you go? I had to stay, now I'm reaching for you...Will you wait? will you wait?"

Apollo reached down and stroked his wife's balloon-shaped belly with a tender grin on his face. He felt proud to be apart of a life that has barely just begun and he also felt happy to be apart of the most beautiful girl ever's life too. He felt happy to know Juniper and he felt happy that he was going to be a father, even if he still harboured doubts that he would be a good parent as he had no parents to teach him these things in the first place.

He sighed softly. He was stressing his brain about this, something he constantly tried to avoid. The red clad ace attorney cradled his unconscious wife in his arms, gently rocking her from side to side to help her sleep.

He remembered that electrical chip that was inserted inside Juniper, something most likely put in there to kill his unborn. His eyes hardened in anger and he tried to fight back tears, gritting his teeth angrily up at the skies above whence he pictured Kristoph Gavin's sadistic face.

He growled. He felt angry that the monster of a man would do something so horrid, placing a little child in danger in such a way always made Apollo's blood boil! He vowed to protect his family with his life ever since he had proposed to Juniper, they were his main reason to live other than that destiny to protect the innocent.

Quickly shaking his head, Apollo banished those thoughts. He didn't want a repeat of what happened back at the Hazakura temple. Resuming to stroking his unborn child, Apollo sang the last sentence of the song he was supposed to sing.

"Will I see you again?~"

He kissed his wife's forehead and held her close against him to keep her warm through the harrowing night. He just grabbed her tight, fastening her to his chest with his arms wrapped around her, and he made sure she wouldn't fall off the rooftop of the train.

The only sounds that were relaxing the spiky-banged attorney was the sounds of the train running through the tracks and the faint sound of his wife's snores catching his ears. He affectionately snuggled Juniper, kissing her nose and cheek, but he was very much unaware that someone was lurking nearby.

Someone very _dangerous _lurked _behind _Apollo, a knife held above the man and ready to deliver a killing blow.

The shadowed man's voice seethed sharply with a very sinister smirk creeping on to his lips while he held a dagger high in his grip.

"_Sweet dreams, Apollo Justice_."

* * *

**A/N: Hi, guys, I'm home now but it may take a month for me to get my face back to normal. All I can do for now is smile REALLY awkwardly, speak really strangely and other things which isn't fun with my other problems.**

**On the story subject...OH NO, APOLLO IS IN DANGER! **

**Will Apollo be able to save himself and Junie...on the roof of a train, no less ****What can an Ace attorney do to defend himself, having little to no fighting experience? **

**...I can't wait for the next chapter, that should be epic.**

**Anyways I have a question for all of you, if they ever make an ANIMATED Ace attorney film about our fav heroes then who would voice them?**

**I honestly think that "James Arnold Taylor" would be a great Apollo Justice. I don't know many other good voice roles, I'm just asking for reasons not even I am sure of.**

**Thanks guys!**

**And special thanks to TheHedgehogAttorneyAssassin, another awesome author who is awesome in every way. **

**Also -one more thing- the song Apollo sang was "Hymn for the lost by RED". **

**Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter.**

**-Chloemcg**


	47. Fight of the siren

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo gasped, swiftly turning half his face to see someone about to plunge a knife into his back from behind him.

He didn't quite care to think about much on the subject at the time but he was really glad that he had that instinctive urge to check over his shoulder otherwise he would have been slain on the spot, cut down and poor Juniper would have gone tumbling off the edge of the train cart roof resulting in her...!

Instinctively, Apollo dived out of the way with an impossible surge of inhuman agility and he tossed Juniper aside so she could collect herself again when her drowsiness subsided. She had a bit of a bumpy landing but she managed to quickly regain her bearings as she looked at her husband with alarm written all over her face.

What was happening!?

"Apollo!?" She exclaimed.

Apollo quickly dodged the multiple attacks being thrown his way, not even daring to spare a glance to his heavily pregnant wife. He could only try and elude these swift knife attacks as he glared at the offending object threatening to jab him somewhere -anywhere- and end his life the instant it pierced his flesh.

All the soothing atmosphere of this night had been sucked from the atmosphere thanks to this guy, making Apollo both worried and angry. He was mostly scared that his life was possibly about to end, though.

He side-stepped out of the way, eyes hardened yet wide with fear. He was clearly very afraid of the knife (who wouldn't be? it could kill you!) and he gritted his teeth whilst he constantly avoided the blade the was meant for him, making his manuver ability more flexible by tying his hands behind his back.

He whipped his upper half expertly, swinging it to and fro in the wind with not an ounce of expression on his face. His thorns were still standing proudly as they glistened in the moonlight sky above.

After a minute of dodging, Apollo caught the guy off guard by suddenly lurching his right arm forwards just as the blade was rushing towards him in a jagged point. The knife slipped right into his sparkling, gold bangle that cuffed his arm and it was in a very dangerous position sandwiched between his bracelet and his actual arm.

He managed to subdue the assassin's persistent blade attacks and he also managed to bring the fight to a sudden halt, his teeth gritting so hard that sharp squeaky sounds came from the friction bouncing off his tightened jaws whilst the pressure of the knife caught up in his bracelet began to build up.

Adjusting his footing on the train roof, Apollo quickly glanced over his shoulder and shouted to Juniper. He could feel sweat trickling down one side of his head from the intensity of this forced halt, both his arm and the arm of his enemy holding the knife shaking from the slow increase of pressure.

"J-Juniper, you have to get inside!" The attorney in red said, shouting as urgently as he could.

Junie seemed shocked at this request.

She just couldn't leave her husband to fend for himself, that would make her worry far more! She gave an objecting look and she opened her mouth to protest against this hasty decision but Apollo stomped his foot to make it clear that he meant what he said, that he would never be more serious about much else.

"GO NOW, JUNIPER!" He yowled through gritted teeth, slamming his elbow down against his attacker's neck whilst he captured him in an arm lock. The knife was now jammed between his bracelet and the skin of his arm and the pointy edge slided with each arm movement, narrowly slicing the man's arm and cutting it with each movement.

Juniper reluctantly obeyed and was yanked back into the train by Athena and Trucy had leaped up on to the roof of the train in order to help Apollo.

However, during the time it took for Trucy to get there, Apollo found himself glaring straight into the twisted eyes of a familiar foe. His face straightened out and his mouth gaped open right along with his eyes, which narrowed the instant the light of the moon caught against the shadows, lighting this guy's face for a mere instance before he recognised it.

He gasped sharply, his eyes wide and his blood running ice cold. This couldn't be who he thought it was...! It just _couldn't _be!

"F-F-Florent L'Belle...!?"

The guy, now identified as Florent L'Belle, just grinned sadistically with a very evil twitch in his eye. His make-up-bathed face twisted into a tightly mangled mess as he snagged the knife out from under Apollo's bracelet and making it so the man fell backwards until he was hanging on for dear life.

The man yelped out in panic as he scrambled to try and climb back on to the train roof but he couldn't really comprehend everything that was going on. His eyes were huge with childish fear yet they were glazed over too as if to indicate how confused he was because of this whole mess.

The man gripped even tighter to the edge of the roof, his chest pressed against a window to reveal the inside of the train, and his face was glancing to his left and his hair was blowing out of proportion from how intense the wind was in his face. His thorns even came undone as they became spikier at the tips of his horns of hair because of the intense rushing of speed the train was going at as it rumbled along the tracks.

Apollo fished for a latch to help him back on to the train roof but couldn't find one.

His breath hitched upon making this realisation, it was either climb back up...or die.

He heard the footsteps of the attacker wade against the heavy metal plating the train had to support the whole locomotive and Apollo gasped in horror when he saw the evil smiling face of L'Belle approaching him and stomping his hand, squishing his fingers mercilessly beneath that crushing foot.

"N-No...please!" Apollo cried out, squirming as he held on tight as if his life depended on it.

He didn't want to die hanging off the side of a steaming train, he didn't want to die never knowing his son or daughter, he didn't want to die in such a way! He couldn't perish...he didn't want to!

He gave the man a begging look, asking him for mercy, but that look Florent had just wasn't filled with any sort of human emotion whatsoever. It made his heart stop when he saw that look filled with blood lust, it hurt him eternally for some reason. It hurt that he probably wasn't going to see his child, never be able to kiss his wife goodbye, never to hold his loved ones close.

He promised he'd protect his loved ones from Organisation Z.E.R.O...but it seemed like he was never supposed to fulfil that promise.

He closed his eyes, yowling in pain, and he prepared for the killing blow to be struck. But he slowly opened his eyes when that pain never came and he looked back up but he was supremely shocked at what he saw just above him and his mouth was wide again, his heart beating again with hope.

Trucy had snagged L'Belle by the neck and yanked him back and away from Apollo's dangling form.

"Don't you _dare _hurt Polly, you jerk!" Trucy growled as she battled the unstable clown-faced man with a katana held in both her gloved hands. She stood defensively in front of her unknowing older brother, her brows knitted together and her teeth gritted fiercely as the rushing wind whipped about her brown long locks of hair.

Her cape whished in the air as she stomped a booted foot down and she had a sword-like glint shining inside her vibrant blue orbs. Her face tightened in fury as she circled L'Belle and they shared a Mexican stand-off vibe as their shadows danced in the midnight moonlight that lit up the whole night for all able to see.

She rushed at him, snarling like a rabid dog, and the two fought with their blades. Trucy continuously jabbed at L'Belle while the man in return tried to block off her admittedly strong jabs and pokes of fury.

Apollo fought to pull himself back up, his legs squirming as he tried so hard to hoist himself back on to the train. He squeezed his eyes shut as he effortfully managed to lurch a hand on and managed to fish a little hook that was on top of the train and he gritted his teeth as he stretched the upper part of his body up on to the roof while his legs quaked and waved about in the fleeting whips of wind currents blowing him about.

(_Ggggaghh...just a little more...c'mon...) _He thought to himself desperately, reaching for another hook so he could successfully climb back aboard the rooftops of the train. Just barley -oh so barely- he managed to grab those two little hooks and he clambered back on to the train roof with a slow body that was shaken up due to the whole experience of him nearly falling to his death.

He almost slipped during that last stretch but someone had managed to grasp on to his hand tightly to prevent him sliding off again.

When Apollo looked at the figure, expecting it to be Trucy, he discovered that it was not her at all. His eyes widened in shock and his mouth was agape once more, his jaw even went slack to make his mouth look even bigger than normal.

"L-Lamiroir!" He stammered, shock overriding his systems.

The woman gritted her teeth with effort as she pulled her son back aboard the train. She had a worrying look in her eyes but there was also a look of bold determination on her face, mixed with concern and a sudden burst of bravery.

She assuredly patted his back as she ordered silently "Apollo," she swallowed whilst glancing worriedly from him to the maniac L'Belle "you go and comfort you're wife inside with Trucy, I'll fend off that villain!"

Apollo was shocked. Did Lamiroir, the painter of sound, just suggest them going inside to hide like cowards!? He didn't know how being a gentleman worked but he knew that the golden rule was to never let a woman fight such a strenuous battle. Especially an older woman who was previously so frail and dainty the last time he met her, he couldn't let her do this!

"Lamiroir...I can't let you do that!" He said desperately, his voice laced with worry. He grabbed her arm to try and stop her as she stood up to try and fight but she just sent him a tearful smile as she looked at him caringly, her watery eyes brimming with a soft compassion that reflected the amount she had in her soul.

Apollo's defiance fell along with his stern expression. It dropped into one of surprise and recognition. He knew that look from somewhere...it seemed so familiar but in a more sentimental way, not from all those years ago when he first met her during the Gaviner's concert.

He found himself unable to argue with her. How could she silence him with such a motherly look on her face? It was practically impossible.

The two exchanged a look before Lamiroir stood back up, not dare saying another word, as she turned her back on her son. Like a shadow and an enigma in a beautiful starry cloak, she approached L'Belle slowly with determination taken in every stride she made.

Trucy ceased fighting the opponent, shocked as she was pulled aside by the woman, and she gasped as she was pushed in Apollo's direction silently.

The two adults watched as their unknowing mother glared at the enemy.

"Hahahaha..." L'Belle cackled slowly "so why do you, DEAR, wish to defend that filth who so wronged me?"

Lamirior, or Thalassa, stood her ground and she scowled at the man. She gave a quick swipe of her cloak in an attempt to signal to Apollo and Trucy to go on ahead and they made a hesitant yet quick move to get away. They seemed like innocent children who were at a loss at one to do, in fact, their faces perfectly resembled those of lost little children.

As they ran away, Thalassa spoke "...A mother will do whatever it takes to defend her children to the end."

Her words rung with such truth.

She sounded much like a defence attorney, in that sense, and she also seemed very protective of her two little ones who she regrettably never shared the time with. She spent a great deal of unforgettable moments with Trucy -a talented magician who always found a way to brighten up anybody's day- and she always adored her. She didn't get to spend much time with Apollo -a man who loved to defend those under his charge as a lawyer and always believed in the truth- as she was forced to abandon him as a baby.

She only had those two regrets to live with. It pained her knowing this but at least she saw her babies one last time.

Bravely she removed her cloak, revealing her true identity beneath that star-bangled cloak and she held up her bracelet.

L'Belle simply smirked in satisfaction. "Well, well...you shall die first. Any LAST words?"

Thalassa said nothing. She had said what she wanted to say, nothing could change that. She watched as the man held a gun up to her chest with the steady aim of attempt to shoot her heart but she didn't fear it. She only closed her eyes, opening them again a second later, and charged at him to fight him off.

* * *

Apollo and Trucy ran to go back inside and were almost at the door when a sudden gunshot echoed through the night, leaving a dreaded silence in its wake. Neither of them had the time to react since Trucy, fearing for the woman's life, scrambled back on to the roof above.

Apollo too felt his heart skip a beat as that gunshot rang out through the empty night. His eyes widened in shock as he tried to prevent Trucy from going back up there but his attempts were in vain as she quickly slipped from his grip in order to reach the roof of the rushing train.

"T-Trucy, wait!" He yelled urgently, his hand held out to stop her.

The red clad attorney sighed irritably. That girl was impossible to control at times, it greatly aggravated him! He gave chase, knowing that was was at risk himself doing this, and he too scrambled up the ladder leading up to the roof of the steel train and he came across a heart-wrenching scene upon getting there.

His mouth became dry and a bullet-sized lump got caught in his throat.

The weeping of Trucy were faint in his ears as he stood still, unable to do anything but watch the scene unfolding before him.

Apollo swallowed and he raced to the fallen Thalassa and fell to his knees beside her, placing his hand on her cold ones as she bled on the floor of the roof.

The only sounds now was the sound of the train rumbling against the tracks and the bumps it made on occasion and the woman's raspy breathing as her daughter tried to suppress the bleeding gunshot wound.

"M-Mommy, is that you...?" Trucy asked, tears streaming down her face, and she hugged the woman desperately while whispering to her softly. She seemed desperate to save the dying woman but Apollo and herself knew that it was too late to save her. She lost enough blood already and she was still bleeding all over the place.

Thalassa gasped weakly yet loud enough to echo over the rumbling train, reaching a hand up towards her daughter's face and hoping to soothe her "Shh-Shhhh...do not cry, my little Trucy. Everything will be fine."

Trucy choked on her sobs as she nuzzled her face against Lamiroir's and she gave weak hiccups. She must have been hurting on the inside, knowing that the last time she would see her mother, was when she had saved her life.

Apollo too tried not to cry tears of remorse but he still found the will to keep it in as he softly said to her "I-Is there anything we can do, La-I mean Mrs. Gramarye?"

The woman shook her head slowly and weakly, glancing up at Apollo and then at Trucy as her body became almost limp. She had to tell them now...there could never be a better time.

"No. Listen to me," She inhaled sharply "both of you, I need to tell you both something of great importance."

Trucy sniffled, her voice strained from crying "What is it?"

The dying Thalassa sighed tiredly. She was growing so tired and she could feel herself slipping away from reality and her world became dark for the final time. She spoke in the slowest, softest voice possible as she confessed that secret that festered in her consciousness from the very beginning.

"...I never thought I would ever see you together. I cannot believe you found each other through such an unwinding fate, it was beyond joyful to see you finally meet when I thought it impossible."

Apollo tilted his head to one side. What was she talking about? Were Trucy and himself really not supposed to have met, what could she possibly mean by that?

"Apollo and Trucy, you are both brother and sister."

After saying that, their worlds shook. Apollo broke down instantly and Trucy did too but this time, after a huge reluctance, they hugged each other for the first time as brother and sister. They just cried in each other's arms, unable of doing anything more now that the secret was out. That would explain everything! Especially how they had such similar powers.

Eventually, however, Apollo and Trucy hugged their mother for the first time as a whole family. They snuggled under the dusk of twilight until she finally spoke in such a precious whisper "I am so proud of you, my children..."

And with that, all was silent.

Apollo and Trucy grieved in each other's arms as they mourned over their lost mother. They couldn't do anything else for awhile but as Apollo tore his puffy, teary eyes off from the corpse of Lamiroir he stared off into the night and gritted his teeth with a vengeful glow burning inside them.

(_...I'll get you back for that, L'Belle, one way or another.) _

* * *

**A/N: I told you guys that this would get epic. **

**Apollo and Trucy find out the truth about their true heritage and Lamiroir dies protecting them. We see what happens next when they arrive in Borginia and find out what else happens when they realise that Phoenix knew about this as well.**

**I may have already mentioned this but my face should take awhile (a month) to return to normal again but don't worry, I'll be fine. Thanks for caring about me.**

**What will happen now in the story? **

**-Chloemcg**


	48. Memorial of the painter in sound

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The night skies were alit with the orange rims brightening the earth, colouring a blazing dawn in the beautiful wasteland. The sun was gradually rising upon the horizon and thus painting the sky in bedazzling colourations and hues as the atmosphere was greeted by this unwelcome hint of sorrow. Heedless to say, the bleak sunlight was totally unfair since everyone was now so filled with grief and they stood around the recently deceased woman who had helped them along like a crutch helping the broken and crippled.

The Ace attorney team stood around the covered body of Thalassa Gramarye, her corpse being laid down on a thick chunk of wood that kept her body floating on a gentle stream as she laid dead to the world with a sheet draped over her.

Everyone had their heads lowered and they each held candlelit flames to light the oncoming morning and to celebrate the life of a very good friend that helped them through thick and thin despite herself being forced into these unfair venues and situations that completely changed her life one way or another.

Nobody could cry any tears, they had cried enough.

After a long silence, Phoenix spoke through a strained voice as he shakily stepped forwards.

"...We have all gathered here tonight to see off a fine friend, a gentle gem that had remained pristine through rough times, a former performer and a good mother." He closed his eyes and hung his head low "Thalassa Gramarye...here is our send off for you."

He choked a soft sob as he backed off from the deceased lady, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. He had lost a lot through his long life and he had seen so much and been through hell and back. He always was brought a form of pain in one way or another and lost and gained a lot of good and bad things that he would have regretted even more now that he had once again lost something.

But now it was Apollo and Trucy's turn to lose something too.

Klavier spoke up as he played a gentle tune on his guitar "Lamiroir, or Thalassa, it does not matter that you leaded two different lives and left one behind for many years until you had regained you're memory. You were still an important piece in our lives, ja?"

The bass player gave a shaky breath as he closed his eyes sadly. He ceased plucking the strings of his guitar and he looked up at the sky through eyes glazed with tears that sparkled in the corners of his pale blue pools that burned with sympathy and he looked at Apollo and Trucy through saddened eyes hollowed through with sadness.

He couldn't imagine what was going through Apollo and Trucy's minds, they had just lost the mother they didn't know they had until mere hours ago and now they were struggling accepting the fact that they were, in fact, siblings that were surprisingly working together for all these years.

Shaking the sympathy off, Klavier stopped plucking the strings of his guitar and he turned his face away from the woman. He couldn't bare the dejection he felt, it was like one of his very best friends was taken from him. It felt like Constance Courte's death all over again!

"A-Achtung, baby..." He sniffled, trying not to cry and be cool "now you shall hear one of you're very own melodies that you and I wrote together...sung by you're very own offspring."

Apollo took this as his cue and he began to pluck the guitar strings of an acoustic loaned to him by the prosecutor himself. Over the passed few years, he felt bad about not being able to play the guitar or anything and wanted to learn so he could do a specific task so he asked for the aid of Lamiroir (now known as his mother) and Klavier so they could teach him to play the guitar.

He had practiced for a good long time whence he had his free time and wasn't worrying himself sick over his baby or Juniper and -therefore- had grown accustomed to playing some gentle strings from time-to-time to help himself play his worries out via the guitar. He loved to play and found the melodies admittedly soothing but now, he felt regretful to be playing them.

He was now playing the guitar for the saddest occasion of his life and he wanted to cry over the very fact that his mother was now gone. He couldn't, though, he had to be strong for his little sister and he had to be strong for everyone else.

The melodies of Apollo's guitar gently flowed through the firefly-laden air and Trucy, softly holding a crying Kazam close to her, began to sing "Sugar, sugar...O that night, in your embrace."

Trucy's voice sounded so graceful and dainty as her voice harmonised with the guitar her half brother played to accompany her mother's song. Her head was hung and her usually alit deep blue eyes were dull and glazed over with shame and sadness as her top hat was dipped to hide her expression from anyone who dared question her sadness.

She snuggled her little son close against her as she bundled him up in her cape and cradled him in her arms as if to soothe the tears he cried more so then the tears she herself cried.

"When you stole away the keys my heart held on to so tight."

Apollo spared a quick glance to Trucy and found his hard eyes well up with tears and his heart ached from pure remorse. He could only bite down on his lip as tears streaked down his face and dripped on to the strings of his guitar, making them vibrate through his fingers and his control.

His thorns of hair drooped sadly over his eyes as he fought back many more sobs from betraying the true extent of this heartfelt grief he felt for the events that took place this evening. He couldn't hope to look through the mind of his mother's killer but he couldn't begin to look into the mind of anyone in that dreaded Organisation Z.E.R.O to begin with.

Every time he remembered her face now, it hurt him and tore out his heart before stomping it into submission.

"Pleasure...But a fleeting melody."

Trucy closed her eyes but her cheeks were flushed scarlet. Nobody knew if it was from the nip in the crisp autumn air or from how much she cried for the passed couple of hours but they didn't bother to question it since the poor girl looked broken about this enough already.

Her voice cracked as she sang the melody as softly and gently as one could begin to muster, chills running up her spine as she watched some of the crew step forwards so they could pay their respects and put lilies and other flowers above the deceased's blanketed body.

"It wraps itself around me, And now through the air I fly..."

One by one, they each placed their own little part of tribute over Thalassa's little boat. Athena planted a small guitar pick with a little Widget symbol on it down at the woman's feet, the twins planted little balloons to celebrate her life, Juniper made a flower wreath made of lilies and other white flowers to symbolise her life and how precious it was, Phoenix put his badge beside Athena's guitar pick, Kay and Klavier placed two of their special belongings with Thalassa, Trucy and Kazam put balloons with her too -like the twins- and Apollo put a little musical sheet of paper on her chest.

Nobody could even hope to ignore the feelings of grief as they finally pushed the small piece of wood down the stream and watched as the boat slowly vanished from sight, with Trucy still singing that song and Apollo continuing to play the guitar.

"Woh... Woh...Burning on in my heart. Fire."

Everyone watched as Thalassa gradually floated away into the mist down the streamy creak that ran through the Borginian dry wastelands. The ground was crumbled up into savannah-like rubble and dust but it was still somewhat endearing to look at when the sunlight hit the cracks just slightly.

However, despite the mesmerising beauty, they watched with misty looks in their eyes as they watched the beautiful Painter in sound travel down the lake in such a beautiful and mystifying way. She even carried her star-glazed cloak with her on her journey into the afterlife but that didn't make anyone feel any less torn up about this.

"Burn my love away. All away. Like a bullet of love. Fire."

Trucy sniffled and sobbed as the song finally started to die in her throat and her legs threatened to buckle out from underneath her, ultimately giving way, and forcing her to collapse due to the pressure of all this.

She was supposed to be happy about this but how could she be happy now that both her parents were now dead, she didn't feel that affected about her biological father being gone -or at least it didn't seem that way to anyone but Phoenix- because she knew that her adoptive father would always be there to help her. She never met her mother and when she did, she disappeared into nothingness and didn't come back.

It was understandably a horrid, gut-wrenching feeling for anybody to go through.

"Take my life away. All away."

Finally, the song started to come to an end.

Apollo and Trucy decided to sing this last verse together since they could no longer sit by and not say their official goodbyes to her. The oldest played his guitar softly, mellowing it down to a low and soft volume so it would suit the bittersweet air that hung over everyone like a wet blanket, while the other and youngest sung her lungs out.

They couldn't believe it: their mother -the woman they unknowingly defended so long ago- was Lamiroir, a blind Borginian singer who travelled with a young Machi Tobye. They couldn't believe it, not in the very least. They wanted to just believe that this was all a horrid dream and that all of this was just a figment of their imaginings and that Lamiroir was alive and well but they knew that couldn't be.

Sadly and with empty voices, Apollo and Trucy sang the very last verse in harmony to "The guitar serenade".

"Guitar, Guitar... Up together to the sky."

Finally they all decided to go back into the train and grieve some more since they no longer felt any joy or any positive in this horrid outcome. Everyone except for Apollo had left the scene and the man just stared longingly into the fog clouding the stream leading down into more dangerous wastelands.

Apollo put the guitar down on the ground, snapping it into pieces painfully as his eyes remained transfixed on the crystal stream in his wake, and he scattered those shreds into the water and he looked ahead with a long frown on his face.

He slowly stood up and spoke softly "...Y'know, you really were the mother worth waiting for."

And with that he turned around to join the others back on the train where they should very soon be entering Borginia. They just didn't know what to expect upon their arrival, though, nor what anyone would think should they learn about the singer's demise.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, guys, I'm afraid I'm back in hospital with my face really sore. Because I'm having troubles with both sides of my face now, they think I have probably been bitten by a tick or something.**

**I don't know what's happening now but I really want it to stop. **

**Sorry about this. :(**

**Anyways, poor everyone. Thalassa's dead and they had to bury her and now Apollo and Trucy must get used to the fact that they are siblings, how will that work out? It should be sort of awkward.**

**I may have also put up that poll I mentioned earlier so you may answer that if you want.**

**Please review. Thanks.**

**-Chloemcg**


	49. Apollo the romantic

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo stared off into the wildnerness that the thick transparent windows presented him with as the train made its last stretch into Borginia, a country where life was rough and only the strongest survive into those critical stages of childhood...should they be left orphaned that is.

He just couldn't believe it, his mother was gone and he hardly got the chance to know her outside of her singing profession. It seriously hurt the attorney in red and made it so his heart was drenched in sorrow, each beat of his eternal organs delivering another sad blow to his emotions.

However he lifted his head at the feel of someone touching his shoulder compassionately.

He found Juniper smiling at him lovingly and sympathetically as she seated herself beside him and embraced him into a snug hold, her arms enveloping the man in for a very warm cuddle as she made it so Apollo could rest his head on her shoulder, ready to comfort him from his whole ordeal.

Surprised of his wife's actions, Apollo was hesitant at first.

What should he do? He had no idea how to respond to this and he didn't want to be caught dead crying hysterically like a child throwing a really bad crying fit. But then the mood begun to set in and he found himself nuzzling her with loving affection, a smile adorning his lips as they twisted from a depressed frown upwards into a more happier yet heartfelt grin.

The two hugged each other tight, finally letting their tears flow down their faces as they wanted nothing more then to stay in this loving embrace and never wanting to let go. They were so content as the sunlight began to rise up into the skies upon the horizon and settle on their forms through the pretty slick window and bathe the adorable couple in a sweet warmth that actually felt akin to that of natures way of putting a reassuring hand on a friend's shoulder.

Apollo even felt a slight murmur catch in his throat whilst he rubbed a hand up and down Juniper's back.

His sadness had evaporated into thin air now all thanks to the love of his life!

"Do you feel a lot less brooding now, Apollo?" Juniper asked, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. Her arms wrapped around Apollo and she patted his shoulders to show that she cared whilst she smiled at him with that pretty face of hers, mesmerising Apollo in the process like some sort of witchcraft or hypnosis.

"Mmhmm..." He nodded, his kinetic eyes softening as he began to feel a bit better about his mother. However he still felt a horrible crater in his heart which would probably never be filled since he had lost his mother during that harrowing night when he almost died himself and this would be perfectly understandable. His heart ached to the extent of him just wanting to be held.

Giving a shaky and hoarse breath, he just stayed in the welcoming embrace of his wife and the horned attorney and the flower girl just didn't leave each other's side for a long while. They couldn't stand the thought of leaving each other.

However Apollo decided to break it up eventually as he pulled away and looked down at Juniper's swollen mid-section adoringly and he laid a tender hand atop it so he could stroke it endearingly.

"So hows daddy's little fighter?" He asked through a gentle tone of voice, tickling his unborn child with quick-moving fingertips that lightly brushed against Junie's inflated abdomen. Pride twisted his insides in knots and he made little cooing noises (really embarrassingly) to his wife's expecting bump.

He felt his heart swell even bigger whenever a slight force bumped against his hand, a strong kick, and he and Juniper began to whisper endearments to their unborn miracle...

In a very sappy, corny way of course!

"Aww, aren't you just a cute little button?" He said adoringly, brushing his nose against Juniper's belly. His voice and actions were overflowing with this sickeningly sweet display of adoration he had for both his wife and his unborn child.

If anyone was watching this scene then they most likely would have lost their appetites ages ago thanks to this. Thankfully nobody was around to see this otherwise things would have turned from incredibly creepy to oh-so awkward...nobody but Alakazam Wright, that is.

The young boy stumbled into the room, a sweet yet oblivious smile on his lips, and he hopped over merrily to Apollo and Juniper with a bouncy step. He didn't feel particularly grossed out by this -in fact he was totally fine with it- and he waltzed right on over towards the two with his little lilac cape flapping in the free-flowing breeze.

"Whose papa's little survivor? You are, yes you-" Apollo stopped baby talking right there since his eyes fell down on little Kazam and Juniper too just stared down at the little boy, both of their eyes wide and bright red taints on their cheeks.

Apollo and Junie were rendered completely silent.

They really hoped that they wouldn't get in trouble if Kazam saw all of that and leaked the info to Mr. Wright and to Trucy because that would get them in serious trouble indeed. They simply decided not to say anything and change the subject before things got out of hand, but the subject needed to be a nice kiddie-friendly one.

Apollo twiddled his thumbs anxiously, glancing down at the floor "Oh, er...! Hey there, Alakazam, what can we do for you?"

Kazam smiled innocently while he rocked back and forth on his heels. He was clearly oblivious to the gross awkwardness he had just witnessed, making Apollo wonder how many more situations the boy had accidentally stumbled upon, and he reached his podgy arms up in a gesture of wanting to be held.

The red clad ace attorney was more than happy to oblige to this muted request as he reached down and scooped up the little boy into his strong arms, settling him down on one knee and the boy spoke with his tiny voice "Uncle Polly, what can I do to cheer you up?"

Apollo furrowed a brow. Cheering up? From what? He couldn't help but have his head on one side to express this feeling of confusion and he stared at the child blankly. He mutedly acknowledged that he wasn't sure what the boy was talking about and Kazam understood and clarified what he was saying.

"I want to make you feel better after Thalassa went to sleep."

Then the sadness came flooding back...

He had to admit that he knew that Kazam didn't mean to make him feel sad again but he didn't want to be reminded of what he had lost this evening, it hurt too much. He felt a sharp jab in the heart that was like a swift punch to the stomach smack him on the inside out because of the memories that came over him in that one fell swoop.

He faked a smile and knitted his brows together "...Really?"

Kazam nodded, oblivious to the blunder he had just inadvertently made.

Apollo fought back tears. He hoped that whatever his half nephew was planning then he could try sorting it out, otherwise it may take awhile for him to recover completely again as he had lost a load of the joy he had felt moments ago.

His voice heavy with strained sadness, Apollo asked "What do you have in mind, kiddo?"

Kazam seemed to have been happy (ecstatic even) to have been asked that. The light igniting in his round eyes and the beaming expression told all as he bounced off of his half-uncle's lap and reached for beneath his cape with an innocent little smirk on his face.

Whatever the little magician was going to do, it was in the "magic trick" variety. Eventually, after relentless digging around through his little purple cape, Alakazam pulled out a small fold of paper and handed it to Apollo.

Apollo was now perplexed. How did the child managed to hide that and what was it? His eyes were overflowing with curiosity and his face just reflected this in every way. His lips formed a straight line as he began the process of unfolding the mysterious piece of paper and he eventually discovered something incredibly shocking about the paper.

"...O-Oh my word!" Apollo was flabbergasted.

Just how did Kazam manage to get his little mitts on this!?

This was very incomprehensible, there was no way this could be in his hands now. But it was and this wasn't a dream!

The red clad attorney showed the paper to Juniper and he exclaimed in a shock-laced whisper in a question to the boy "K-Kazam, how did you manage to get you're hands on these Organisation Z.E.R.O files!?"

Alakazam giggled sweetly, his pudgy hands flying up to his cheeks bashfully. He twirled on his feet to display his movements characterising how sheepish he was to have come into possession of those documents. He knew these would make his uncle happy!

He didn't answer the question but he did simply say happily "Think of it as a present from me to my official uncle Polly!"

Apollo smirked teasingly. Of course, because Trucy was his half sister that basically made Kazam his biological nephew and that made things a lot less complicated since Kazam had grown accustomed to dubbing him as "Uncle Polly" anyway so not much would have to change for the little tyke.

He chuckled warmly and he tickled his nephew affectionately "Haha, yep and you better be careful or else justice will find you and tickle you!"

Squeaking in delight of the idea, Kazam played along and ran out of the room joyously. He was obviously thrilled that he had cheered up his uncle and aunty and couldn't have been more happy with the results as he stumbled out of the room.

Apollo and Junie laughed quietly as the boy ran out of the cart and the two looked at each other flirtatiously, a certain look shining in their eyes as they leaned forwards and kissed each other romantically.

They loved sharing their sloppy sweet moments especially when they were all alone with nobody else around to interrupt them.

"...Now where were we?" Apollo asked, pecking Juniper softly on the cheek.

* * *

**A/N: I thought I should make a happy chapter to balance things out. **

**I AODRE JunieXPollo because they are such a cute couple, I am even thinking of making another one shot for them soon when I'm feeling better.**

**Encase your wondering why I'm constantly updating, I just really don't have anything better to do with my spare time. Its pathetic, I know, but this keeps me occupied and it takes my mind away from pain and stuff...that and it sharpens my literature skills.**

**I thought that Apollo would make a cute uncle and I wanted to make a chapter dedicated to the slow healing process of how the man bounces back because of his nephew.**

**...And no, Apollo nor Trucy know that Phoenix knew yet. Imagine how awkward this would get when they find out.**

**Anyways please review and answer the poll if you want. It will help for a much later chapter.**

**-Chloemcg**


	50. Arrival in Borginia!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Juniper groaned as she awoke in a darkened room. Her groggy face was dragged from exhaustion as if she had been whacked by something before she had been knocked unconscious or whatever this was.

She gazed at her surroundings with utmost weariness as she tried to get to know her environment that seemed so dark and so cold. She couldn't even dare hope to grasp the concept of her situation as she slowly came to terms with the fact that she was obviously caged.

The fact that the flower girl was locked up was easy to tell since she was surrounded by thick metal bars and she appeared to have been living in a box-shaped container that was cold and had an air of sadness to it. She didn't even want to know what was going on here!

"H-Hello?" She called out, lonely.

Junie sat up and looked around cautiously with a very worried glint in her innocent eyes. She wrapped a very protective arm around her swollen stomach and she figured out that there wasn't anyone around to hear her as her voice echoed throughout the darkened chambers of this abyss she was caged up within.

She was confused. Where was Apollo, where was her amazing husband who would protect her!? Maybe she and everyone else had been captured by Organisation Z.E.R.O, that would make a bit of sense!

She tried again, a bit more frightened "Apollo, are you there!?"

There was nothing.

The flower girl was now very much alone and afraid of what was happening. She gave a couple of nervous coughs as she found herself becoming increasingly afraid for her situation and she wanted nothing more than to go and curl up with her husband there to protect her from harm. It was a comforting thought but it wasn't something that made her feel any less afraid of whatever was going on right at the moment.

She sunk down low and laid down on her back so she could gaze up at the ceiling.

Both her hands rested on her huge belly as she closed her eyes and tried to let her mind fade into a welcomed unconsciousness and swallow her up. She didn't know where she was but she didn't exactly like it, either.

She lifted her head up in alarm when the loud clicks of footsteps came into focus and she faced the direction of them, hoping to see Apollo or Athena or maybe even Phoenix. However the person she saw was none of the above and that fact alone terrified her!

She held back some coughs, not wanting to make herself weak, and she looked up frightfully at the man standing over her. This was a man she knew from one of Apollo's past cases and it was one that brought on some nostalgia as she glared at the man standing above her, her eyes narrowing into a scowl.

"Who are you, where am I? Release me!" She demanded in a meek yet frightened voice but then she cowered a bit at the end of that sentence and she swallowed a lump in her throat "...please."

However the man just smiled down viciously at her, silently mocking her as he circled her cage like a hyena stalking its prey in the tall grass of a savannah. He glared yet a very cruel grin was plastered against his clownish lips and he bent down to meet the young lady at eye level and he continued to have that smirk tugged at either side of his lips.

Juniper shivered. Why was this man so silent? Why was he looking so evil? She didn't know and she didn't want to know but she was being forced to find out either way, it appeared.

The man, now known as the man who killed Lamiroir, mockingly stuck his bottom lip out in a false look of benign "Aww...what a sad, sad face! It seems that you have yet for you're knight in shining armour to come and save you."

Juniper knew that he must have been talking about Apollo. But what did he mean by that, why couldn't he save her? Where was her beloved anyway?

Those questions danced around in her head and she couldn't imagine why her husband wasn't there to see her, it was a scary little thought. She scooted backwards into one corner of the cage she had been locked up in with her arm once again wrapped protectively around her enlarged abdomen as she looked up at the man with tears welling up in her innocent eyes.

She couldn't open her mouth and ask since the man, Florent L'Belle, had sneered as he stepped aside to reveal a spotlight shining down on the still and lifeless body of her husband and the father to her unborn child.

A hand flew to her mouth to stifle a gasp and her heart stopped dead in her chest. Apollo couldn't be...he wasn't breathing! He was so still and he had cuts and scrapes all over him and he even had a pool of crimson and sticky blood that had gathered around beneath his deceased corpse and there was a knife plunged into his chest.

She wanted to look away as she felt sick from looking at the gut-wrenching, mind-destroying scene in front of her. However she could not take her eyes off of her husband's unmoving body, no matter how much she wanted to.

"APOLLLLLLOOO!" She screamed, tears now pouring from her eyes.

L'Belle took no heed to this as he watched the pregnant flower girl collapse to her knees and begin sobbing her eyes out as she buried her head in her hands so she could cry in private. The man she loved with all her heart and the man she wanted to have a family with was now dead! And she could wager a guess that the same fate was met with Phoenix, Athena, the twins and everyone else.

However, she looked up at the man with remorseful and tear filled eyes and she sniffled in grief even though a trace of anger was prominent on her face. She frightfully glared at the man and watched as he approached her, unlocking the cage, and approached her with a knife in hand.

Seeing the knife plunged fear directly into her heart and she let out a strangled gasp. What was that knife for? She had a feeling she knew what it was but she didn't want to believe it...

L'Belle approached her with that same sadistic grin on his lips as he glowered down at the pregnant woman and he stepped towards her while she tried her best to scoot away from him, both arms wrapped around her huge belly in an attempt to protect her unborn baby.

"W-What are you doing!?" She asked, her voice trembling and her eyes watering.

L'Belle simply smirked and replied "I just have to exterminate the last line of the Justice lineage. That BRAT you carry is nothing but a FREAK and you are no different, my DEAR little Juniper."

Junie didn't have Athena's amazing sense of hearing but she could most definitely sense a hint of malicious glee behind his gaudy, deep voice. Sweat trickled down from her head as she felt her heart sink into her stomach with dread and she breathed in raspy breaths of fear as she backed up against one of the barred walls of the cage she sat in.

She whimpered like a kicked puppy as she curled up into a very small ball and she looked up to the man with huge glassy eyes overflowing with fear of what he was about to do as she saw him with his knife raised over her.

However L'Belle continued to mock her as he smirked evilly with narrowed eyes "My DEAR Juniper Woods, I am so VERY sorry but I am afraid I must ask you for one more thing..."

Juniper cried out, holding her hands out to try and stop him but she knew it would prove futile "N-No! stop! Don't come any closer!"

She writhed and squirmed to try and get away but she was hopelessly trapped and had no way of escaping her fate. Her voice trembled in her throat and she quivered, shaking like a maraca, and she looked up at the man with one last pleading gaze.

Alas L'Belle carried on taunting "...your silence." he laughed maniacally as he raised the knife above his head and got ready to stab his victim while his shadow stretched out over her frightened, lamb-like form as she gave off a very fearful look in her precious eyes.

With one last grin, L'Belle threw the knife down and apparently ended her life after saying "Farewell, Juniper Woods-Justice!"

* * *

"NOOOOOO!"

Juniper screamed as she felt herself kicking and screaming, trying to get out of whoever was restraining her's grip. Tears streamed down her face as the vision she had just witnessed was still playing in her mind, fresh and like a fresh bite wound tricky to get rid of.

"Let me go, let me go!" The flower girl writhed but her eyes snapped open and she stopped squirming against a certain someone's grip when she heard a very familiar voice tell her worriedly and softly as she held on tight despite her best friend's demands "Junie, it's okay!"

Juniper stopped all at once. She knew that voice, it was one she would always recognise. She looked over her shoulder to find that it was Athena whom had been holding her back and trying to stop her from crying and kicking off like a child having a massive tantrum.

After a moment of silence and staring into the concerned eyes of Athena, Juniper felt whimpered sobs break out and she threw her arms around her best friend in an attempt to seek out some comfort as she rested her chin upon her best friend's shoulder and cried her eyes out.

She cried and cried and cried until she eventually was soothed by Athena stroking her back up and down in a gentle rhythm.

"Junie, it's okay. It was just a nightmare..." She crooned as softly as possible. She could hear the distress in the poor young lady's heart and it was such a heart-breaking amount of discord in there too. The red haired woman tended to her best friend while she tried to comfort her after such a thing had obviously terrified her.

It probably scared her even more than what that jerk Gaspen Payne had tried to pin on her and still call himself a "gentleman" which was an outrageous claim. Apollo was greatly angered by that and claimed that if he was there he would have wanted to strangle that smug prosecutor for being so harsh to his darling wife.

Phoenix had suggested going through court manners with Apollo, like Athena, since clearly the need for violence was a very unquenchable thirst at the Wright anything agency. He couldn't blame either of them, of course, they were both young and rather reckless after all.

Junie wailed loudly as her voice broke "A-Apollo w-w-was dead, T-Thena! L'Belle...H-he tried to k-k-k-kill me and our-!"

Athena silenced her distressed best friend, knowing exactly what she was so worried about. She could hardly blame the poor thing at all because everyone was going through bucket-loads of worries right now. She would have actually been concerned if Juniper wasn't scared by what was happening.

"There, there. Apollo's fine, Junie, he's just with Mr. Wright and the others right now so he should be along shortly and he can help you." She comforted while bringing her friend's face forwards to face her and she patted the flower maiden's head softly to try and soothe her out of control worries and emotions.

Juniper gave a choked swallow. She couldn't believe that what she just experienced was all a really bad dream. It seemed so realistic and that was frightening, she couldn't tell if it was real or not. However she then noticed that there was something different about the windows outside like the scenery from before changed.

Outside the train had stopped and had apparently parked in a wasteland-like place that resembled that of a town coming straight out of an old western movie except with little shacks and hidey holes everywhere. The red sand bustled passed with a few tumble weeds to occasionally roll on by the scene and greet the ladies in a somewhat Mexican-like environment.

Athena, knowing what her friend was thinking, smiled at her curiosity and held her hands up cheerily in a celebratory gesture "Well, Junie, welcome to Borginia!"

Juniper was shocked. They had finally reached Borginia!? How long had she been asleep exactly? She took a deep breath and sighed to calm her nerves and she got ready to stand up but was stopped when a certain young girl darted into the train cart with an excited little smile worn on her face.

"Mother, Mr. Wright is on his way back with Apollo! They say that this is of grave importance." Star announced as she politely peeped her head through the door. She watched as her mother gave a nod of thanks before popping her head back into the other train cart she had Luna stayed in as if guarding the place from anyone evil.

Then (some time later...) everyone was called into the main train cart which had the exit and entrance covered to where Apollo had a surprising truth to uncover from what he had learned earlier when he was having some private time with his beloved wife.

It felt like an eternity but Apollo had eventually revealed to everyone the papers that Kazam had most likely pilfered from someone whilst they were not looking.

Phoenix was shocked that his grandson was capable of theft, Trucy shared these feelings of shock, Athena didn't exactly know what to think on the matter, Juniper didn't know what to think either, the twins were happy that Kazam was using his gifts and putting them to good use and Apollo couldn't be prouder since he did steal from the enemy.

Apollo read the papers eagerly aloud as he stood in the very middle of the room whilst everyone else lazily sat down to listen and that included Klavier and Kay.

"Heartbeat detection audio, written and determined by Kristoph Gavin-" Apollo could hear Klavier growling under his breath at the mention of his brother but Apollo didn't linger on it "Apollo Justice: 45, Juniper Woods-Justice: 78, Phoenix Wright: 34, Athena Cykes: 11, Star and Luna Cykes: 12/15, Alakazam Wright: 20, Trucy Wright: 20..."

Phoenix was confused. Just what was Apollo reading out here? these numbers were random and he knew that they had nothing to do with age. Phoenix knew he wasn't 34 anymore and knew that if he was then he would most definitely be looking a lot less...grey in the hair.

Luckily, Apollo read his bosse's mind like a book and explained while tapping the piece of paper with the back of his hand like Phoenix would when he was in court "Well, ladies and gentlemen, what this paper means is that Kristoph, the Phantom and the rest of Orginisation Z.E.R.O have been tracking us specifically with our constant heart rates. For example, Athena's is eleven and that basically means that she is calm a lot of the time."

Now this was starting to make sense. They knew this already but still...

Apollo had more to say on the matter "However on the next few pages we discover that everything is written in some sort of ancient inscription that I can only translate a bit of."

Everyone was surprised. Apollo learned how to read certain hieroglyphics!? How and when on earth did he accomplish this!? This was useful to know but still, what need does a defense attorney have to learn strange transcribing from an ancient civilisation!?

...They couldn't complain, really, since this was helpful now.

Apollo took a moment in trying to decipher the scribbles and concluded "Hmm...this says some very descriptive words about some sort of ancient tomb that is located here, but I can't read anymore on the matter."

Phoenix was now flabbergasted. Not only was his two-year-old grandson a tea leaf but one of his employees was also a would-be Indiana jones who could blatantly understand how to read old writing about pyramids and stuff. This was a very interesting day indeed!

Klavier smiled confidently as he got up "If we want to read more on the matter then I suggest we go and sneak a peek by a "wolffish" Interpol agent working here that Edgeworth just so happens to know, ja?"

Kay nodded in agreement, smirking mischievously "Agreed."

And with that it was officially decided to go to the local precinct of Borginia and they also hoped to spread the news of Lamiroir's untimely demise. If anyone had a right to know, it would have to be the authorities...

Hopefully things here would be a bit smoother than in Japan.

* * *

**A/N: Aww, Juniper had a nightmare. :( **

**There was also a reference to Mia Fey's death if you had spotted that. I would have made the villain in the nightmare the Phantom, Matt Engarde or Kristoph but since Juniper didn't see any of them yet she did see L'Belle then it would make more sense.**

**Now our Ace attorney team arrive in Borginia. Maybe the republic of Zheng Fa is next! **

**Whats this about a pyramid and about Apollo managing to understand ancient hieroglyphics!? What other things are there we should know about the horned attorney!?**

**Btw, my face is better now. My cheeks hurt quite a bit and I'm still on some medication for it but I'm beginning to get the right side of my face back, yay! My right eye is now blinking again too, although it's still a tiny bit wonky.**

**Anyways, please review.**

**This is the 50th chapter, now officially my longest story so far, and I aim to get more than 100 reviews when this is finished. I hope you chip in to assist that goal! **

**Thanks and stay tuned!**

**-Chloemcg**


	51. Safety

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

The Ace attorney team stuck to the shadows as they had their backs wearily against the cool brick walls of some building parapets and some scaffoldings which had been made apart of some Borginian architecture.

Thanks to Kay's expertise in sneaking around, no doubt because of her job as the great thief Yagatarasu, she had managed to get the crew into sneaking around through the shade much like ninjas and any sort of espionage.

She was the one making sure that Phoenix and the others were in staying in line and she even was especially helpful to Juniper, whom she had formed a bond with, as she helped her along while Apollo stuck by his wife's side.

Kay looped her weight through some tall pillars that acted as outside supports for a palace-like building as she ran in and out through the gaps whilst she made sure she was nimble enough to use her agility to her advantage in such strategies. Her ninja raven-like outfit fluttered through the humid air as she managed to toss Apollo, Juniper, Trucy, Kazam, the twins and Athena into the shadows whilst she motioned for Phoenix and Klavier forwards to take a look at the scene afar.

Due to the scorching hot climate of Borginia, the town highly resembling an old Arabic city, whatever stretched far from view had become all rippled and difficult to make out. Phoenix had to squint his eyes to be able to make out anything important and Kay and Klavier had to use a pair of binoculars as they all looked at a very vague building that looked somewhat celestial and grand.

Admittedly, Phoenix thought that this was the nicest precinct he ever seen.

He gave a quick glance to Klavier and Kay and thickened a wiry brow at the both of them and he asked very slowly in a slight whisper "Alright, guys, what do you plan on doing here?"

Kay smirked as she put the binoculars away into her satchel and she cupped her chin thoughtfully. She did seem awfully confident in herself all of a sudden as she slowly stood up straight, balancing on the rooftop by standing on one knee, and she glared her eyes at the wrinkled image of the palace-like police precinct.

She looked back at the gang for a moment and she smirked "...I do believe that I have an idea."

Phoenix and the team listened in on her idea very carefully.

They knew that they had to be discrete on sneaking to the Borginian local precinct and were going to have to be very, very light on their feet when it came to running along the rooftops in broad daylight. They couldn't take the risk of slipping off the spires and parapets of each building they scattered across.

Eventually they broke into a race, pivoting on the balls of their heels, and jogged to maintain their balance on the roofs they bounded across and they tried their hardest not to look down and shoot their chances of making it safely to the Interpol station that was safely nestled in the far off distance among some other nice buildings and shacks that tried to pay off as houses for the moderate-of-wealth.

Kay took the lead and she used her feathered material cape to foreshadow the team and Klavier, using some very slick gymnastics to deftly maunuver passed any obstacles that ended up in her way.

She flipped and dodged those obstacles with neat and swift precision until she eventually came to stop right beside a flag banner that was like a tightrope going across to a simple little building that was like a one-way pathway to the precinct of Borginia.

Everyone stared at the banner cautiously, insure of what to definitely make of it as they tried to think of a way to cross it without falling.

The great thief Yatagarasu said nothing as she looked down upon the rope in deep thought; It would be tricky for people to cross this banner with ease since Phoenix was deathly afraid of heights, Juniper was pregnant and there was a chance that many of the team would fall while she was more of an expert of these kind of things since she had more experience to cross these obstacles. She would have to assist them over one-by-one otherwise risk the lives of her charges, killing them all should they make a wrong move.

She looked over to everyone before she looked back towards the other side.

It was the only way...

Kay went back towards the team members, saying nothing, as she lifted Junie into her arms and proceeded to leap across the other side of the banner. In the middle of the leap she had to skid her foot against the rope tying the banner and very barely pushed the sole of her boot against it to get her more of a springing jump.

She managed to barely pull it off but she plopped Juniper down, minding the fact that the poor flower girl was shivering due to how scared she was.

"Juniper, are you alright!?" Apollo shouted over to her nervously.

Junie nodded. She held her swollen abdomen tight as if she was utterly frightened by what happened, she was even shaking like a maraca with hair. She gave a shaken whine but otherwise she seemed unharmed, other than the fact that she was scared out of her wits. Her soft little eyes lifted up from her stomach towards the others and she nodded towards them as if to tell them "its alright to come forward" even though nobody seemed convinced.

They went through it anyway.

Soon enough, everyone was across and had continued to run along the buildings so they could reach the Borginian precinct quickly. They arrived after minutes and minutes of long bounces across rooftop to rooftop.

* * *

Everyone walked through the gentle ivory hallways slowly.

Their eyes wandered from the wall on the right, to the one on the left. Many decorations adorned each wall as they walked, even some framed certificates and photos of all the good times certain officers had in the past. They seemed so happy too.

Phoenix glanced towards Kay, feeling a huge amount of sympathy for everyone whom knew them. Ever since this whole fugitive thing started, everyone who the Ace attorney team knew had been thrown into this whole spiral into chaos as well as them. It bore right through his heart and ripped it up into submission.

He hung his head sadly, the guilt smacking him in the face as it hit him like a freight train. He also begun to realise just how tired he was since he didn't really sleep at all during this treacherous adventure around the world. His shoulders sagged and he slumped over in exhaustion whilst he staggered towards the double doors of the precinct.

Kay led everyone through the doors and they were instantly greeted by a small host of familiar faces.

Franziska Von Karma was among one of the very first people to greet the team and she was also surrounded by Ema Skye, her older sister Lana, even Robin and Hugh were there to greet them! But there was one guy who had managed to see them all. He was kind of Wolf-like in both appearance and personality but he was kind and loyal all the same.

**"Not so Fast!"**

Those words were so familiar to Kay that she didn't even take a second to try and recall who it was. She remembered working with him when she was a young lady and those three, special words burned in her mind. They shared the same significance as an "Objection" or even a "Hold it!" since it was just as loud and just as focused on an emphasis point of view.

And only one lone person yelled them.

Shi-Long Lang shoved passed his cohorts with a sharp smirk pressed against his lips. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked at Kay and Phoenix and the others with that same, fanged grin. His eyes narrowed confidently as he clearly looked like he was studying those he was instructed to assist and house in the precinct for awhile.

He recognised Klavier and Kay straight away as he gave Kay a fist bump "Ah, Faraday! You've come with our guests!" he thinned a teasing brow at her "took you long enough..."

Kay rolled her eyes in fake annoyance.

Shi-Long Lang never changed, he remained charismatic even to this day and he had even become the boss of the Borginian police force since he wanted to make up for certain mistakes he had made awhile back whence he finally had time to reflect on his wrongdoings and some other past troubles. He was also working under Edgeworth, much like a few other people in this office, but for the moment they worked beneath their "Shifu".

Shi turned his attention to Klavier and nodded begrudgingly in his direction "...Klavier."

Klavier returned the nod but smirked tauntingly "...Shi-Long Lang."

Everyone remained silent for a few moments. This certainly brought on some awkwardness and tension in the air. Whatever was up with the wolf-like investigator and the rock star prosecutor, it seemed that the latter liked to taunt the former quite often and would make it a constant habit.

After some silence, Shi-Long Lang decided to speak up again as he looked towards Phoenix and smiled "Y'know, Wright-Wright, I do like the hair. It reminds me of a certain someone else's hair whose is awesome in every way!" His tone was boastful but it made Phoenix grin all the same as their hair styles did seem very similar.

...Just that Shi-Long Lang's hair was a bit more rugged.

At least the porcupine-haired jokes seemed to have ceased.

He nodded his head thankfully and touched his own spiky hair to fix the greying tips into better positions. He couldn't deny that he loved his headful of dark blue-black locks and felt proud to own them like he did, the hair was one of his trademarks after all.

However, after getting everything out of the way, Phoenix and the group were forced to tell their friends about the death of Lamirior, AKA Thalassa Gramarye, and how she was murdered by an old nemesis of theirs. It was a hard blow to their feels.

Trucy had to be the one to explain it and everyone could tell that it hurt really bad. Her voice was choked up and her face was tight as shadows cast around her eyes since she had to hang her head and dip her silk top hat low to hide her tear filled eyes. She wasn't willing to accept the comforting touch of anybody and she even tried to carry this burden all alone.

She gloomily walked off unknowingly towards the guest rooms, leaving everyone else to watch with concern as she descended down the hall.

Poor Trucy...she had just lost her beloved mother and she didn't see her for years before that.

They really should try and console her but as Phoenix walked to try and comfort his adopted daughter, Athena held him back whilst shaking her head. She knew that Trucy needed some time alone right now and everyone should respect her privacy, even if her father wanted to soothe her pain. Nobody could blame either of them and Apollo was going through the same thing, he was just bearing it better.

Sighing dejectedly, Phoenix turned to face his comrades and suggested with a tight face "Maybe we should try and recuperate for awhile..."

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreements.

They hadn't really had the time to relax and lay low. They had been so worried about being found that they didn't really let on to how bone tired they really were after many sleepless nights on the road. They needed to take care of themselves for an hour or so and try and get over the grief they felt.

The twins and Kazam decided to explore their surroundings while they had the chance to, and they wandered down the halls with Klavier leading them away to look after them so everyone else could sleep and eat and bathe. Kay had to go and keep a sharp watch on Orginisation Z.E.R.O's current positions and to try and lead them away from the others should they get close. Phoenix, Athena, Apollo and Juniper left to do some basic care and clean themselves up after days of self neglect and a slight disregard of personal hygiene.

Everyone left to do their own thing but they had no idea what they were going to do now.

Should they do some investigations? Should they try and see if there are jobs out there? Should they try and buy some new disguises?

Phoenix was going to think up of something.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, guys! Sorry about the 5 day wait, I've just been busy. **

**Last night I've been up watching the Children in Need special and even put up a fanfic just for the occasion the night before. Although it has more to do with Professor Layton than anything else. **

**I'm just voicing my opinions here but what would happen if Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright were involved with a CIN (Children in Need) music video with some other game characters such as Sonic the hedgehog? That would be the best thing ever! **

**I find the "Wake me up Children in Need music video" quite nice to listen to.**

**...Ahem, enough about that. Anyways we see that Phoenix and everyone's arrived at the Borginian police station that looks more like a regal palace than anything apparently. What a good place to hide! **

**But poor Trucy, she has yet to recover from her mother's death but what would happen if a certain red clad attorney with scissor-shaped hair should be there to lend a hand? **

**If you had to make a guess of what would happen next, what would it be? **

**And I so far have three votes on the poll about Apollo and Junie's child. More votes would be very highly appreciated but so would reviews and you don't have to give either of those if you don't want to.**

**I won't force you.**

**Anyways -health wise- I'm basically all better now. I have nearly got my smile back and I can finally blink my right eye again! :D I should be back to normal now...at least until I have another stomach problem although I've been great so far on that level. **

**Thanks to TheHedgehogAttorneyAssassin for being a great reviewer and for being so nice to me whilst I was unwell.**

**Thats all for now.**

**-Chloemcg**


	52. A brother's loyalty

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Apollo sighed as he nuzzled his wife, cuddling her and wrapping his arms lovingly around her. He made sure that Juniper was safely nestled in his strong arms as he gently brushed his nose against Juniper's cheek and he closed his vibrant brown eyes whilst doing this.

The Lawyer and his wife both sat on the edge of the bed, both their hair being damp from the showers they had just had, whilst they snuggled lovingly. Apollo even wrapped a protective arm around his wife as he gently stroked her side to help her sleep, knowing exactly what to do since he had heard from Athena that she had a really bad nightmare earlier.

Exhausted, Juniper murmured sleepily with her eyes drooping "...Apollo..."

"Shh..." Apollo shushed his wife, gently caressing the side he was stroking whilst he pushed her down softly so her head could lay down atop his lap "try and get some rest, Juniper, you've been through a lot."

Junie didn't dare argue with her husband since she was already being lulled into a heavy slumber by her husband's comforting murmurs and his tender strokes that clearly meant that he cared about her unconditionally. She closed her eyes and rested her head down on Apollo's lap so he could stroke her even softer as she leaned against him heavily with a very small frown on her lips.

Apollo looked down apologetically at his betrothed. He didn't mean for her to have been dragged into this nightmare of an adventure, she was just so precious to him and the same was with their unborn baby.

He hated that the both of them were at risk but he just didn't have the heart to leave her be and it didn't the fact that Junie would have been likely to give birth should he leave her with these guys.

He couldn't miss the birth of his child.

Apollo didn't notice at first until he heard her gentle, sleepy snores.

Smiling warmly at seeing his wife getting the much needed rest, Apollo very gently lain her down on the bed they sat on and tucked the blankets around her so she could be more comfortable in her sleep. He loved seeing her sleep, it proved to be a very good remedy for his restless mind. He gently twirled one of the florist's mud brown locks in his fingers whilst he smiled down at her, he even stroked her rosy cheek to comfort her.

The red clad attorney, feeling an overwhelming urge to do this, craned his whole upper body downwards and sweetly pressed his lips to Junie's forehead. He kissed her passionately and for a little longer then normal, he just couldn't believe how brave she was being. He was undoubtedly proud of her for this bravery.

"I love you, Juniper..." He whispered as softly as his Chords of steel would allow, his lips finally parting from the flower girl/judge's forehead.

Reluctantly, Apollo slowly got up from the bed and he wandered out the door.

He couldn't deny that a whirlpool of emotions filled him when he reflected back on the adventure so far. They now have a huge bounty on their heads for their capture so if they were seen by anyone, anyone except their closest friends, then they would undoubtedly be reported for the capture.

It seemed that the saying was correct: money is the root of all evil.

Their journey had been filled with danger and filled with trials of the heart and a few "Objections" here and there. Otherwise everything was basically smooth sailing, it appeared!

Apollo walked to go and get himself a snack and then he planned to go back to Juniper just encase she has another nightmare in his absence. Of course he had heard about the bad dream she had back on the train whilst he had left with Mr. Wright and, from what he had heard, he felt horrible about it. It sounded horrible and it was centred on L'Belle, no less. That wasn't surprising since L'Belle _was _the one whom had killed his mother!

He wandered down the corridors, his eyes constantly wandering from left to right. The marble halls were something to be impressed about since whoever decorated them was quite the artist when it came to renovating, that was certain! There were pictures hanging on the walls and they seemed very warm and happy somehow despite having a certain edge of creepiness to them.

He could hear the 'clicks' of his own feet as they touched the flooring below.

Apollo walked on towards the kitchen before he heard some sniffling coming from a closed door to his left. He turned his head towards the door with an inquisitive expression crossing his face and his lips pulling into a worried frown. He approached the door, forgetting about his hunger, and he pressed his ear against the doors hard surface to listen in.

He could most definitely hear some sobbing on the other side of the door, despite the sounds being muffled, and he felt a great ounce of concern tug at his heart strings.

His fringe dropping over his eyes in concern, Apollo held his fist up and rapped against the door in a few knocks. He knocked rather urgently too!

Quickly, the sobs coming from the other side silenced into hiccups and a strained voice said from the other side "...C'mon in, Polly."

Apollo was taken back. How did she...!? How did she know he was there!? Perhaps it was a family trait that its impossible for anyone to sneak up from behind them or something. He shook off the shock and he gently put a hand on the doorknob before he twisted it, opening the door in the process, before he allowed himself to enter but what he found on the inside of the room was downright heart-crushing.

Trucy sat on the edge of her bed, her cheeks red and burning hot, and she had obvious tear stains down her face. She choked back a sob but it was obvious that the need of hiccuping was impending and was bound to happen sooner or later, no body could fight back a case of the hiccups! And the budding Ace magician even blinked her puffy red eyes at her half brother while her lower lip quivered uncontrollably.

Apollo sighed sympathetically. Trucy clearly needed someone in her time of need and, as her brother, it was his newfound duty to find out what was the matter with her...even though it was completely noticeable.

Sitting himself beside the magician, Apollo asked through a worried and soft tone "Truce, whats the matter?"

That was a silly question, what the matter was is that her mother had been killed and died right before her eyes! How could she possibly be fine after something like that?!

Trucy began to sob her eyes out there and then as she cried rivers now. She tossed her head forwards and caught it in her palms so she could cry in them and hold her heavy head in her hands. Her long locks of dark brown hair hung limply over her face to mask her expression, although it didn't fool Apollo one bit as he put a hand on her shoulder and began to stroke it worriedly.

Trucy's body racked from the heavy sobs that shook through her body.

Worried that she would hurt herself from how upset she was becoming, Apollo hurriedly wrapped his arms around Trucy's fiercely anguish-filled body as she began to kick and writhe on the bed from how frustrated she was really becoming.

She now started to cry rivers of tears as they streamed down her burning hot cheeks, blurring her piping hot vision, and she whimpered loudly as she sniffled. Her head tossed itself onto her brother's strong shoulder as she cried and sobbed in misery. She hated feeling this weak in front of Apollo but she couldn't help it, she felt so horrible and her emotions were constantly bringing her back to her mother's dying face.

Apollo soothingly rubbed Trucy's back with a saddened look plastered against his face. He hated seeing anyone he knew cry, it made his heart sink low into his stomach after twisting it into tight knots and ribbons. The only thing he could do was try and mend their broken hearts in a way, even though he didn't see himself as a great crooner or such. He didn't even know any comforting words to muster so someone would feel infinitely better. He continued to rub her back whilst staring at her sadly.

After awhile, Trucy finally started to calm down as she rested her head against Apollo's shoulder.

"...Polly, i-is Juniper alright?" She asked after a moment longer of silence.

Apollo nodded, staring off into space.

He felt worried about his beloved, even now, but he learned not to bottle up his feelings and to tell Juniper when he worried about something. It was way healthier to just share the load with someone who could help you conquer those fears you had building up inside.

But suddenly he had an idea.

He smiled happily at it, this should cheer Trucy up!

He sent her a sideways glance and a somewhat adorable little smirk as he gently patted Trucy's shoulder "Oh, Trucy~" he sing-songed.

Trucy raised a brow and furrowed the other one in confusion. She fought back the urge to tilt her head to one side too and she gave a pouting look as she puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms across her chest somewhat elegantly "What?"

Apollo chuckled beneath his breath. He knew she would like this little idea, it wouldn't fill the hole which their mother had left the night before but it would do something at least. Every little thing helps at this point.

He licked his hand and ran it through his scissor spikes, propping them up into a standing position on his head. He even closed his eyes leisurely as he said lazily with a false yawn "Aww, nothing, just that I thought you would have liked to name Juniper and my child when they are born."

Trucy's eyes lit up, a look of disbelief plastering against her face. Did she just hear what she thought she did "...What was that?"

Apollo repeated what he said with a softer smile "I want you to name the kid when it's born."

He watched for Trucy's reaction. He didn't know what to predict here, in all honesty, but he examined every inch of his half sister's face for an ounce of expression. He didn't blink at all as he stared deeply at the magician's face as if to catch the smallest hint of happiness of hearing this news.

Sure enough, Trucy reacted...in a very good way!

She exploded with joy as she bounced to her feet, showing absolutely no signs of the fact that she had been crying moments ago. As a matter of fact she was now acting like she had a whole cauldron of sugar and was experiencing a major sugar rush, making her go into a very hyperactive state. She jumped on to her feet as she smiled giddily down at her half brother, standing over him as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

Apollo had a good idea of what was going to happen next...and seconds later his suspicions were confirmed.

Trucy joyously bolted out the door, her blue cape swishing in the free breeze behind her, and she dragged Apollo along whilst she raced down the hallways and corridors.

Apollo didn't fight against her and made no attempt at resisting. He smirked.

He knew she would have loved that pleasure of naming her upcoming niece or nephew, it would mean the world to her and it just might give her the strength to keep going.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at Trucy's childish behaviour but he loved her just the same. He had a family with Phoenix Wright, Athena, Trucy, the twins, Kazam, Juniper (of course), Edgeworth and even Simon and Aura Blackquill. Even their past clients could be included as family members! Sure, a lot of them were nut balls but he wouldn't trade them for anything.

But he still had a lot to learn about being a good big brother even though he thought he made a good start. The red clad attorney shook his head with a grin as one thought passed through his mind:

(_Heh. __Maybe being a big brother won't be so bad...)_

* * *

**A/N: Hello everybody! **

**I'm all better now, my face is back to normal completely! :D **

**Again, I have to thank HedgehogAttorneyAssassin for being so kind during my stays in hospital and for reviewing this story. Your awesome! **

**But I haven't updated in awhile because I was a bit busy with my other stories so I hope you can forgive me for that. At least I put up a sweet little brother-sister chapter for Polly and Trucy, that makes up for some things, doesn't it?**

**Anyways I am getting quite good things on my poll about the potential name of Apollo and Junie's child to be. I just hope that my reviews can do as well. **

**Let's see what happens next, we may have a chapter about Klavier next when he babysits Kazam and the twins...or we may have a Phoenix and Alakazam chapter. You will have to wait and see...**

**We may also get another companion joining our Ace attorney posse, w****ho do you think it is?**

**Please don't forget to review and favourite. :) **

**-Chloemcg**


	53. The only time a lawyer can pull a smile

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Phoenix Wright nor any other characters. I may own a very small amount of characters but most of them belong to Capcom without a question.**

**Rise of the fallen.**

* * *

Phoenix sighed as he eased into the chair, the pain in his aching back finally dulling to a lower volume as they automatically rubbed against his aching back muscles and soothing them. He closed his eyes and craned his neck back against the head rest and he felt all muscles in his ageing body go completely limp as if someone had switched off every single working bone in his body.

He needed this.

It felt like a century since he had been able to properly relax like this.

His jaw went slack and he found his consciousness quickly fading into oblivion, every inch of his body sinking lower and lower into an abyss of relaxation as he found his heavy eyelids snapping open at the sound of a small noise which actually caught his attention, the scent of dark coffee wafting through the air like the common cool breeze that blew by each and everyday outside.

He sighed irritably as he knew exactly what this meant although he wasn't sure whether to be happy or annoyed with this person.

"Hi, Godot..." Phoenix mumbled.

Former prosecutor Godot, AKA: Attorney at law; Diego Armando, stood in the doorway with a sly smirk on his lips and he looked at the sleepy attorney through a mechanical mask and his white hair bristled at the slightly younger attorney's annoyance. He had his back leaning against the door and he tapped his foot impatiently against the marble floors.

Sniggering to himself quietly, the man asked with a fake look of disapointment "Aw, Trite, didn't you miss me?"

Phoenix gave the man a very chilled glare that would put Edgeworth's icy cold sneer to shame. He didn't exactly like the guy much, considering that the guy was a coffee addict and that Alakazam seemingly liked him more. Phoenix felt really inferior compared to the coffee-addicted prosecuter and he could not begin to deny the fact that he may have felt a tiny bit of jealousy towards him.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, dismissing the subject, Phoenix asked "What are you doing in Borginia anyways, Armando?"

Godot raised a brow, raising a mug of the obvious brew of coffee to his lips and taking a swig "What can't a guy help out a coupla friends?" His voice was like a mixture that sounded both fatherly and sincere to create the perfect tone should a usually stern carefree soul want to adopt a serious light-hearted persona.

He sounded genuinely worried for Phoenix's situation. It almost made Phoenix smile gratefully to see that he actually cared but, then again, there was that festering little amount of jealousy that prevented him from doing this and he simply laid his head back and closed his eyes to sleep.

The ace attorney was exhausted and he couldn't feel his arms nor his legs as he wanted nothing more than the chair he sat in to just swallow him up and make it so he wouldn't have to face these problems. He knew that thinking like that was selfish and he hated himself for it but it wasn't exactly something he could help but feel, he just felt annoyed with everything going on.

He sighed softly with annoyance and then the older man asked, quieting his voice tone to a mellow tone "How're the kids taking this?"

Phoenix sighed again. From what Diego meant by "the kids" he meant Apollo, Athena, Junie, Trucy and the actual kids. He couldn't imagine what they were going through right now even though they tried to hide the huge amount of fear they were undoubtedly feeling. Kazam must have been suffering worst of all, though, he was a very young boy and he was especially innocent and his little mind would be crushed should he go through any death at this innocent little age.

Phoenix wanted to protect his grandson from anything and everything that could harm him but he also wanted to protect Trucy and the others. He viewed them as his family, he viewed everyone he ever worked with as his family. He never had anybody else to call "family" so this was the closest he was getting to a group of loved ones.

He sat up sluggishly and flattened his shoulders with a frown.

The spiky-haired ace attorney finally opened his eyes and looked back at Godot with sympathy taking over every inch of his facial features and his wiry brow lowered over his soft blue eyes.

"Their taking it hard." He confessed as he felt his heart break "Apollo and Juniper are worried sick with a baby on the way, Trucy is heartbroken because she just lost her mother, Athena is really struggling with the fact that her mother's killer is on the loose and my grandson and Athena's twins are all having worries about what the future will hold."

Upon saying this, Phoenix felt his heart pour out to his team.

They must have been terrified with the fact that nobody knew if they would live or die by the hands of fate. Organisation Z.E.R.O was going to stop at nothing until each and every one of them was captured and killed by their hands and Phoenix knew for an absolute fact that none of them or the ones they cared about were going to be safe as long as this nonsense was going on and, understandably, that horrified them more then anything else then in the whole wide world.

He looked sadly to Diego with glassy eyes that were threatening to tear up, Phoenix finally letting everything sink in as he realised once and for all that everyone he loved was probably going to die because of him.

"I...I dunno what to do, Godot...I don't wanna lose my family. Not again."

Godot actually felt sorry for Phoenix. The man had been struggling with all these hardships for awhile and there was no doubt that the defence attorney was actually terrified of losing his loved ones just like he had lost Mia all those years ago.

However, Godot shook his head determinedly. He had a few choice words for Wright and he had better listen to them well and good...

Without saying a word, the white-haired man wearing the goggles stomped towards Phoenix with a very stern expression strong on his face. He had a rather intimidating aura about him as he glared through an emotionless mask and he knelt down on one knee before the greying, spiky-haired defence attorney a very cold frown.

Phoenix and Godot shared a momentary stare down before the latter reached forwards and smacked the former across the face, startling him as he reached to the cheek where he had just been struck by the older man.

The men were silent for a moment more before Godot said in a very strict tone of voice that also had a tone of surprise compassion "Phoenix Wright. To make a perfect coffee you need to have some teaspoons of sugar and pour a hint of milk in there, without either of those ingredients you got a bitter brew filled with a brooding air." Godot smirked knowingly "...Ya get what I'm saying, Trite?"

Phoenix shook his head.

As always, Godot's coffee metaphors made little to no sense what so ever. Whenever he used some coffee-based lectures, he couldn't even begin to understand what they are supposed to mean or what they are referring to.

Godot smirked "Ha!...I shoulda guessed as much; What I mean, Trite, is that even though you feel like everybody in the world is against ya and everybody else, you gotta get it through that thick skull a'yours. There'll always be somebody to help you no matter what."

Godot's smirk softened into a kinder tone. It was a tone he would never normally use, especially not on Phoenix! He patted the man's shoulder encouragingly although there was most definitely a hint of rivalry "Now, just be aware that a few people don't think of you high an' mighty but that won't stop us Attorneys from stickin' together even when we're scoured across the globe."

Phoenix looked down in deep thought, pondering on the coffee addicted prosecutor's words of actual wisdom;

He had to admit it, Godot had a very good point there.

There were people who didn't like him much and, fair enough, there were some Ace attorneys out there who would be more than willing to help them and he was glad for that. Phoenix worried about being a burden to them and did not wish to weigh anyone down with their issues, especially with issues like these ones! That didn't mean he should give up, though, a lawyer could only cry when it was all over.

Godot flashed a confident grin to the attorney at law "After all...Ain't the worst times are when lawyer's have to force their biggest smiles?"

Phoenix was near flabbergasted. Did Prosecutor Godot just quote one if his mottos!? That was actually enough to make his jaw drop and his mouth hang wide open. He barely noticed Godot leave to choke on his words and when the man was gone, he could feel a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he felt a slight headache come on.

He sighed a third time from the pain and he placed a heavy hand over it, closing his eyes to try and get some rest. He was exhausted...

He eventually drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Kay ran across the buildings, panting rather worriedly as she tried to get away from those pursuing her and her raven hair bristled against the cool winds that brewed in the sweltering environment of these near humid conditions that she was forced to run for her life in.

Skidding to a halt, she pressed her back to a brick wall and decided to catch her breath. Her heart was beating about a mile a minute before she she resumed running as fast as her athletic legs could carry her and she placed a hand to her chest in order to ease her hammering heart.

She breathed deep breaths as she tried to quiet her exhaustion and closed her eyes to do so.

For ages she had been running from a bunch of nasty guys. She reopened her eyes and looked around cautiously for those chasing her, her head whipping in all directions so she could catch a glimpse of those making her run for her life. She had been running her legs off for ages and ages and only now did she finally manage to catch herself a break.

The Great thief looked around repeatedly, whipping her head around in all directions but she couldn't find anyone of the sort.

"Huuhh...huuhh..." She panted, exhausted "...looks like...I lost them."

Kay straightened her posture and sighed to calm herself. She kept her back pressed firmly against the cool brick building to keep her temperature in check, bullets of sweat dribbling down from her face when she finally began to get enough of that unbearable heat that wafted through the air like a nasty virus.

She could not even hope to control that racing pulse that stirred under the panic she was just put through..however a sudden urge to look to her left shot fear right into her eyes and the woman found herself backing away when a mysterious person actually began to approach her with a malicious intent as they walked slowly towards her.

Kay had nowhere to run.

She was now boxed in because she had found herself backed against a corner of this alleyway she tried to hide in, cornered like the prey that had been cornered by some lionesses in a lowly savannah.

Frightened, Kay cowered beneath the shadow of this man although she scowled at them in an attempt to try and make herself look stronger. Shaking, she demanded through gritted teeth "W-Who are y-you? Why do you want Phoenix W-Wright?"

The man stepped into the light with a cruel smirk glued to his lips. He actually looked very suave as he shown his face and he even whipped some of his hair to one side while he took a swig of some cherry red wine that he just so happened to have been holding at the time and he also shown his scar-adorned face.

Smirking like a madman, Matt Engarde tutted at her whilst wagging a flirtatious brow yet that same devilish smile was held on his demonic lips and he glared daggers at her. Seriously he looked so spine-tinglingly evil that you would think he had been practicing that look in the mirror!

"Tsk, don't you worry about that. All you need to know, Farri, is that you will _obey _my every order if you want to live...you will tell me where Phoenix Wright is or else face the consequences of your filthy actions." He spoke in a low, chilled voice.

Kay was confused. Was "Farri" supposed to be a nickname referring to her last name, how did he know her surname? What did he mean by that? For some odd reason, however, she was horrified of what this man was going to do. Yet, despite the fear shining in her eyes, she was adamant on betraying Edgeworth and everyone else. She wasn't going to rat out Phoenix and company no matter what!

Matt saw that look of persistence in Kay's eyes and he smiled all the more evilly as he towered over her.

"Don't wanna talk, eh?" He taunted madly "Well I have ways of making bad lil' ladies talk."

And that last sentence terrified Kay.

She glared up at the man and breathed roughly, panicking from how creepy this man was getting as he was getting so close to her she could smell his breath. She ducked her head shyly in between her shoulders and swallowed a stone-sized lump, her pulse stirring and her heart pounding like a conga drum.

She squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself for the beating she was about to receive and boy, did she receive it? She quickly found that she had blacked out before she could do or say anything to resist this Matt Engarde...

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh... Matt has Kay! Edgeworth will KILL Matt, most likely, and now Matt will most likely torture our poor great thief into revealing everything...lest she be strong enough to endure the pain and torture.**

**Lets see what happens next then, shall we? **

**We have a nice Phoenix and Godot moment. He's here too, but what else shall we get? You know, guys, I'm SERIOUSLY considering bringing in another character into this story to help Phoenix and the gang and I think you will be surprised of who it is.**

**Please review and tell me what you all think. **

**-Chloemcg**


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